On The Run
by Little Bit of Frog
Summary: Alternate Season 2 sequel to Wild Card. Todd, Farah, and Dirk are searching for Amanda while they battle being hunted, Todd's advancing disease, and a new plot from Blackwing. I do not have access to Season 2 so this is spoiler free. Any similarities between this story and Season 2 are coincidental (or possibly proof that everything is connected).
1. Chapter 1

Alternate Season 2 sequel to Wild Card. Todd, Farah, and Dirk are searching for Amanda while they battle being hunted, Todd's advancing disease, and a new plot from Blackwing. I do not have access to Season 2 so this is spoiler free. Any similarities between this story and Season 2 are coincidental (or possibly proof that everything is connected). If there is overlap, please don't tell me. I'm trying to avoid spoilers. I do not own these characters or make any money off this. I'm just a fan who is waiting to watch the new season.

* * *

Todd woke up to the smell of bacon. He opened his eyes and stretched. He could feel Farah's arms still wrapped around his chest. While he hated that she had to hold him at night because they were afraid he'd have a pararibulitis attack and be unable to call for help, he loved the feeling of her sleeping form against him.

It was rare for Todd to wake up first. As he gently pulled away, Farah woke and immediately tensed up.

"It's ok." He said "I'm fine. Just awake. Go back to sleep." He leaned down and kissed her forehead. She smiled, yawned, pulled the blanket up to her chin, and drifted back to sleep.

Todd walked into the kitchen and saw Dirk standing in front of the stove.

"Good morning!" said Dirk sunnily. "I made pancakes and bacon!"

"Since when do you cook anything besides Pop Tarts?" Todd asked.

Dirk grinned with a happy secret. "I do today! It's a very special day!"

Todd chuckled. "Oh, is it? What kind of special day?"

"The kind of special day when I decide it's time to forgive my loser brother and come home."

Todd froze. The voice came from behind him, but he had no trouble recognizing it. He gulped, suddenly afraid to turn around.

"You going to ignore me all day?" Amanda asked. "Because I can leave."

"No!" Todd cried as he whirled around. There she stood. Dressed in leather and wearing dark eyeliner that made her glare even more intense. His baby sister.

"Amanda." He said. "We've been searching for you."

"I heard." She said "I've heard a lot about you from the Rowdies. How you helped save them. Save Dirk. You're with Farah now. She's way out of your league, so try not to screw that up."

"Yeah," He said as he shifted his weight. "I'll try my best."

Amanda nodded. "They say you're sick too."

Todd looked down. "I guess it was only a matter of time before the universe bit me in the ass for that one." He paused. "I know I deserve it."

"No." Said Amanda "No one deserves this. But if someone did, it would be you."

Her words were harsh, but he saw a hint of forgiveness in her brown eyes.

"I'm sorry." Said Todd "For all of it. For everything. Ever. I'm so sorry."

"I know." She said simply.

Todd cautiously approached her. "I was so scared. I just want to keep you safe. I love you."

Amanda smiled as she stepped towards him. "I love you too, Todd."

And then she shoved the cattle prod into his ribs.

Todd woke up screaming.

* * *

Dirk was sound asleep in the chair next to Todd's hospital bed. Since Todd was recovering from being stabbed during Dirk's rescue, he had a hard time leaving his assis-friend's side. Even if Todd did find it annoying.

Dirk had fallen asleep listening to the hypnotizing rhythm of Todd's heart monitor.

He wasn't sure what woke him up first, the blaring alarm or his screaming friend. Dirk fell out of his chair, briefly confused by being in the state between dream and reality. Then he saw Todd. Todd's body was jerking and spasming in a way that can only be caused by electrocution. It was as if he were being attacked by tasers all over. His blue eyes were huge and terrified as Dirk stared in stunned silence.

The door burst open as Farah, Dr. Hubert, and a nurse raced in.

"Hold him down!" the doctor barked.

Dirk leaped up and tried to tackle Todd's right arm. It swung up and hit Dirk in the nose. He saw stars, but made another grab and had to use almost his entire body weight to pin Todd's arm down. Dr. Hubert was grabbing Todd's left arm, which was tangled in his IV tube. Farah was laying on the bed, using her entire body to pin his legs. The nurse was rapidly trying to strap Todd down in the bed restraints.

Dirk saw bright red rapidly spreading across the front of Todd's hospital gown.

"Blood!" Dirk cried "Blood!"

"He's blown his sutures!" the doctor shouted.

The nurse had successfully tied Todd to the bed, but his body was pulling so hard against the restraints that Dirk was sure he was going to dislocate something.

The nurse gave Todd a grand total of four shots before he even started to calm down.

"Prep him for surgery! Now!" the doctor barked as they wheeled Todd away.

The door slammed shut and Dirk and Farah stood in Todd's now empty room breathless and in shock.

"You're bleeding." Said Farah.

Dirk reached up and felt the warm liquid gushing from his nose.

"Oh." He said shakily "It seems you are correct."

"Sit down." Said Farah as she grabbed some gauze. She tipped his head back and gently pressed the cloth against his nose. "Hold this here."

She paced the room while Dirk held the gauze. When the bleeding slowed, he tipped his head back to a normal position to look at her.

"Is… is it always like this?"

"Is what always like this?" Farah asked without slowing her stride.

"The attacks."

Farah froze mid-step. A pained look came over her face. "Sometimes they're worse."

Dirk swallowed hard. It tasted like blood and caused him to have to fight his gag reflex. Then he reached out to her. Farah looked at his hand for a long time. Then she clasped it and sat down in the chair next to him. They sat in silence for what felt like ages before Dr. Hubert came back.

"The good news," he said "is that it wasn't as bad as it looked. He ripped open his stitches, but we were able to sew him back up with minimal issues."

"What's the bad news?" asked Farah. Her grip tightened, and Dirk gritted his teeth as he felt like the bones in his hand were about to snap.

"The bad news is, he shouldn't have had an attack to begin with. The medication we had him on should have been more than enough to prevent this. And even then, one of those injections should have neutralized it. He needed several before it took any affect."

Farah's posture stiffened.

"What does that mean?" asked Dirk.

"It means his disease is progressing." Said Farah.

"And quickly." Said Dr. Hubert. "He's becoming resistant to medication."

Dirk's mouth went dry. "What… what does that mean?"

"It means," said the doctor "that we move on to the stronger stuff. Keep an eye on him. These will be harder on his body. And if he keeps progressing, these will eventually stop working too."

"Then what?" Dirk asked.

"Then you pray someone discovers a new treatment.

* * *

Todd's brain was pulled out of anesthesia fog by the sounds of alarms, gunfire, and yelling. He was still more asleep than awake as he felt himself being lifted off the bed and sat onto a wheelchair. It took all of the little strength he had to keep his head lifted. He could hear Farah's voice.

"Get him to the van! Wait exactly two minutes and then go! If I'm not there by then, I will be heading towards another way out! Just get him out of here!" she barked.

Todd turned his head to look at her. She was holding a large gun as she turned and ran down the hall. Todd wanted to reach for her, but his arms hung heavy and useless at his sides.

The wheelchair was moving. Someone was pushing it. And fast. Every turn made Todd feel like he was about to tumble onto the floor. Somehow, they made it to the van.

"Come on!"

He heard a voice with an English accent, along with the sound of keys jingling.

 _Dirk._

"Wha…" Todd said. His face felt so numb that it was hard to speak. "Wha… hppnin..?"

"Blackwing found us!" Dirk said as he threw open the back of the van. Dirk reached down and began trying to lift Todd up out of the chair. Though Dirk was a little larger, Todd was dead weight and Dirk grunted as he struggled to get his friend into the van. He laid Todd on some sort of cot and began strapping Todd down with restraints.

"Just think of it as a seatbelt." Said Dirk "It's bolted to the floor, so you won't go anywhere. Even if we crash. Not that we will crash. But you'll be secure either way."

"Farah…" said Todd.

"She's coming. I hope." Dirk looked at his watch.

"Don leave er." Todd grunted.

"No, no. Of course not." Dirk smiled nervously. "She has plenty of time." He looked at his watch again.

"Wait." Said Todd in a slurred voice.

Dirk was starting to sweat.

"Wait!" He was louder this time.

"I am! I will!" His eyes darted around nervously. "I'm just going to… start the van."

"Wait!" Todd cried as he pulled against his restraints.

"I'm waiting!" he yelled back over the roar of the starting engine. "Though you should know she threatened me! She said she would be fine and if she got delayed she has an alternate escape and she would meet up with us and if I didn't get you out exactly as planned she would be very angry and frankly I'm afraid of what that means!"

The gunfire sounded closer.

"I see her!" Dirk cried. "I see her!" He threw the van into gear.

The side door opened, and Farah leaped in. "Go!" she shouted as she slammed the door shut behind her.

The van raced forward as Farah pulled a device out of her pocket. She pressed the button and Todd heard an explosion.

"Did you just blow up our old hideout?!" Dirk yelled back to her.

"Yes! All our people got out and we needed to erase the evidence and buy us some time. Keep going on the North road."

Todd didn't realize he had passed out until he woke up. He was laying on a bed, under a thick quilt, and staring at a cabin ceiling.

"Oh good!" said Dirk "You're finally awake!"

Todd lifted his head and saw Dirk sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Where are we?" asked Todd.

"New safehouse. Out in the middle of bloody nowhere. Farah estimates we have two days before Blackwing catches up."

"Did… did we blow up our old hideout, or did I dream that?"

"Oh, we blew it up. Farah got Dr. Hubert and the others to the tunnel. They're halfway around the world by now. They're safe. Sorry we don't have a doctor and nurses on retainer for you anymore."

"They did more than enough." Said Todd "I'm glad they're alright."

"There wasn't much else they could do anyway." Said Dirk sadly.

Todd had suspected this. "I'm getting worse. Aren't I?"

Dirk nodded. "We have some stronger pills, but we don't know how long they will help. And you need to be careful with those stitches. That is unless you want me to sew you back up."

"It doesn't hurt much." Said Todd.

"That's because we gave you the good drugs. You'll feel it when they wear off."

Farah entered the room with a fast food bag. "Everyone eat. Especially you." She said as she looked at Todd. "You haven't eaten in over a day."

"That explains the hollow feeling." Said Todd as he began pushing himself into a sit up position. Dirk and Farah assisted and propped him up with pillows behind him. Todd realized he was wearing a black shirt instead of a hospital gown. He lifted the quilt and saw he was also wearing jeans.

"Did you… dress me?"

Farah shifted her weight. "We felt that in the event that we have to move quickly, we would be less conspicuous if we were all dressed normally instead of wearing a hospital gown. We were unsure how long you would be unconscious or how quickly you could get dressed once you woke up, so we decided to prepare for a split-second evacuation."

Todd could feel the embarrassment rising to his cheeks. "Yeah. Um… that makes sense."

"I'm sorry." Said Farah "We probably should have waited. It was a tactical decision and…"

"No." said Todd "You're right. Seconds count right now."

"We didn't look." Said Dirk in a failed attempt to relieve the tension.

"So what food did you bring?" asked Todd with slightly exaggerated volume.

"Burgers." Said Farah as she tossed a wrapped sandwich in Todd's direction.

Todd's stomach announced just how long it had been since he had last eaten. He unwrapped the bacon cheeseburger and said, "I love you so much right now."

He froze, suddenly hyper aware of what he had just said to the woman he was involved with and the incredibly unromantic way he said it. Unable to think of anything to say to make it less awkward, he instead shoved as much burger as possible into his mouth.

After an uncomfortably quiet meal, Farah stood up.

"We leave at dark." She said.

"Dirk said we had two days." Said Todd.

Farah shook her head. "I can't figure out how they found us. We can't risk them catching up again."

"She's right!" said Dirk excitedly "It's time to head East!"

"No," said Farah "we are continuing North."

Dirk shook his head. "No. East. Towards the water."

Farah's jaw tightened. "The ocean is West of here."

"Oh sure," said Dirk "that ocean is. But there are literally oceans all over the world!"

"Why are we heading towards water?" Todd asked.

"Can't you feel it?" Dirk asked "The pull? Water. Amanda. Pararibulitis. It's all connected!"

Farah rubbed her temples. "Because everything is connected?"

"Yes!" Dirk cried "Exactly!"

"You really think Amanda is there?" asked Todd.

"The Rowdies went searching for her." Said Farah "And we have no idea where they went."

"Water." Said Dirk "East towards water."

"Do you have any idea how long it would take us to reach the ocean?" Farah asked in an exasperated tone.

"Maybe it's not the ocean." Said Dirk "Maybe it's a lake. Or a river!"

"Or a bucket." Said Todd.

His joke went over Dirk's head. "See! Todd gets it!"

Farah glared at Todd. "Not helping."

"What do we have to lose if we try it?" Dirk asked.

Farah crossed her arms. "It makes… no sense. Why would we go East? What possible tactical advantage would we have by going East?"

"Exactly!" Dirk exclaimed "Blackwing had no reason to expect it!"

"He has a point." Said Todd.

"Fine." Farah said "At nightfall we go… East. Towards water, apparently."

Dirk's smile was huge. "You won't regret it!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

They had driven all night and the sun was just beginning its cascade across the landscape.

Farah could hear Dirk snoring as he slept on the cot. Todd was sitting in the passenger seat rummaging through a grocery bag full of food. She had been surprised he had stayed awake, but as he put it, he felt like all he had done these last few days was sleep.

"Protein bar or cereal bar?" he asked.

"Protein. Peanut butter, if we have any."

"You are in luck." He said. "One left." He opened the wrapper and passed it over.

She took the bar from him. "Thanks." Then, with a slight smile, she added "Is this where I proclaim my love for you and your food provision?"

Todd's cheeks flushed, but he chuckled. "Can we blame the drugs on that particular foot in mouth incident?"

"Oh, I don't know." She said. "You seemed to have a lot of strong feelings over that hamburger."

"Um, it was a bacon cheeseburger. Totally different."

Farah laughed and took a bite of the bar.

They heard Dirk roll over and mutter something about a magic bathtub before he started snoring again.

"Thanks." Todd said.

"For what?" asked Farah.

"For everything. For keeping us alive and humoring crazy theories and laughing when life hasn't been very funny."

"Are we blaming the drugs for this touching moment too?" she asked.

"No. This one is all me."

Farah kept her eyes on the road, but she could feel Todd looking at her.

"Listen," She said. "I know…"

"STOP!"

Farah slammed on the breaks as Dirk's voice blasted through the van. Her trained eyes darted around to find what was the cause of his cry.

Dirk was standing next to her seat, eyes wide with wonder.

"What is it?" she demanded as she held her gun at the ready.

"We're here." He said, and he raced to the back of the van.

Farah looked at Todd. "Are you ok?"

His face was a bit pained. "Brakes, seatbelts, and recent surgery are not a great combo. But I'm alright."

Dirk jumped out of the van and began powerwalking through the woods.

"Dirk!" Farah called "Come back!" She jumped out of the van and started to jog after him when she heard the other van door open.

"Get back in the van!" she called out to Todd.

"No way!" he exclaimed "I've seen this movie. I refuse to die as Idiot Friend Waiting In The Car."

"Did you see how fast he was moving?" Farah said. "You will slow me down!"

"I'll catch up. I can't just sit any longer."

Farah gritted her teeth and wished for the billionth time that she could get the two of them to understand basic principles of executing a safe mission. She waited until Todd had hobbled close to her and then the two of them began following Dirk's path. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground, so they were able to see which way he went. It turned out he hadn't gone far, which was good because she could tell from Todd's breathing just how difficult the trek was for him.

Dirk was standing perfectly still with his back to them.

"What are you doing?" Farah demanded. "Do you have any idea…"

"Look!" Dirk exclaimed.

Farah looked at the ground in front of Dirk and saw a bright yellow bucket full of water.

"You were right, Todd!" Dirk said.

"I was joking." Todd replied as he stared at the bucket. "What does this mean?"

"It means," said Farah "that you put us all in danger by running after some random bucket of water in the woods."

"How did you see it?" Todd asked.

"I didn't." said Dirk "I felt it."

Farah stared at them. "This is… an insane and dangerous detour. What if someone spots our van just sitting there abandoned and calls it in? What if there were agents? What if…"

"No," said Dirk "this is destiny! Can't you feel it? I told you that you wouldn't regret this! Didn't I say…"

Before he could finish, there was a knife up against his throat.

Farah pointed her gun at the large man that was covered in blue and white tattoos that seemed to have materialized out of nowhere.

"Let him go, or I shoot." Said Farah as she calculated the likelihood of a successful headshot.

"You could." Said the man's booming voice, "But then who would stop him from killing your other friend?"

Farah turned and saw Todd standing perfectly still with a knife pressed against his throat by the mountain of a man that was standing behind him. She couldn't save them both.

"Drop your weapon." Said the first man.

Farah said a silent curse as she lowered her gun. A third man appeared and tied her hands behind her. Dirk and Todd were tied too, and the three of them were lead through the woods. The hike was short by Farah's standards, but Todd was breathless and stumbling.

They were taken into some sort of cave. There was a cage that almost seemed to grow out of the wall. There were no regular lights or torches or windows to illuminate the cave. Instead, they could see by the pulsing, blue light of the crystals that were embedded into the walls. The three of them were unceremoniously tossed into the cage with their hands still tied. Todd groaned.

As soon as their captors left, Farah turned to Todd. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I just feel like a guy whose pain meds wore off mid hike. Dirk was right, I was on the good drugs."

"Dirk," said Farah "Who are these people?"

"I have no idea." Said Dirk. "Some sort of aquatic cave dwellers?"

"Aquatic… Dirk, you're not making any sense!"

"Did you see those tattoos?" said Dirk "They were wavy, like water. And many of them were blue."

"The crystals here are blue too." Said Farah. "Though I suppose they didn't have crystal shaped tattoos." She shook her head. There was no time for crazy hypothesizing. They needed to get out before things got worse. She began working on the ropes that were holding her wrists. As she did that, she looked around the room. They were far enough in from the mouth of the cave that no natural light came in. There were three visible openings that led to other parts of the cave.

"How big is this place?" Dirk wondered aloud. "For all we know, they have an entire civilization here."

"I think I'm close to understanding how this is tied." Said Farah. "Todd, let me see your hands." She looked over and saw just how heavily he was leaning against the wall. It was hard to judge from the light, but Todd's face looked pale. She then saw that the front of his shirt had blood on it.

"Oh Todd..." Dirk breathed.

Todd looked up weakly. "I'm sorry."

"Just conserve your strength." Farah said as she tried to deduce their best chances of escape.

Two of the large men returned. They were accompanied by a thin man who was about Dirk's height. He looked to be in his mid 40s, with a long beard that he had clearly been growing out for many years. His robes were grey and expensive looking.

"Normally invaders do not live this long." Said the bearded man. "But we were given instructions regarding the one with the connection to the Universe."

The larger of the guards opened the door to their cage.

"We're not invaders." Said Farah "We were taking a walk and you kidnapped us."

Dirk awkwardly stood up. "It's alright Farah. I will get to the bottom of this. Take me to your leader, or whatever trite phrase will get me where I need to go. Though of course I will need your word that you will not harm my friends."

The bearded man held up his hand. "Not you." He said as his eyes lowered to Todd.

Dirk stared dumbfounded as he was pushed aside, and the large man grabbed hold of Todd and forced him to stand.

"He's injured." Said Farah. "He needs medical attention, or he'll die!" She was trying desperately to buy time to work her hands free.

She wasn't fast enough. They pulled Todd out of the cage and locked the door behind them.

* * *

The two large men were practically carrying Todd. Technically, his feet were touching the ground, but his legs weren't carrying any of his weight.

They took him into a domed room. In the middle of the room, there was a large, circular pool of water. There was a stone slab in the middle of the pool. The men took Todd to the edge of the water and then waited. Out of the opening on the furthest end of the room came a woman. Her hair was long and intricately braided and the most brilliant shade of white that Todd had ever seen. Her robes were somehow both silver and blue and almost seemed to shimmer in the light. It was hard to determine her age. She seemed both young and old. The more he tried to focus on her age, the less clear it appeared. She was standing at the other end of the pool across from him. She was close enough that he could see that her eyes were as white as her hair. Despite the fact that she appeared blind, Todd had no doubt she could see things he could not.

She stepped into the water and her robes sank around her. Flowing almost as if she was on land instead of waist deep in water.

"Bring him." Said her alto voice.

They walked Todd into the pool and to the slab in the middle. They lifted him up and laid him down on the slab. It was at an angle. Not enough for Todd to slide down, but enough that his head was higher than his feet. The men stood one on either side of him. Each had a hand on his shoulder and another on his forearm, pinning his upper body down.

Todd had very little time to wonder what was about to happen when the slab began to sink. Todd gasped and began to pull against the men holding him. They might as well have been stone statues for all Todd could move them. The water covered his sneakers, and still he sank.

"Wait!" he cried "Don't do this!"

The water rose over his legs and waist and chest. It was just about to touch his chin when he stopped sinking. The white haired woman walked to Todd's left side.

"He's fine." She said. Then she turned her white eyes to Todd and said "You promise to lay still, don't you? Then we would have no need for our friends here. I promise not to hurt you."

Todd swallowed. He didn't want to promise to lay there, but there wasn't exactly much he could do about it. And it would be nice to not be held against his will.

"Al… alright." He said.

She nodded, and the men released him. He fully expected to float, but he didn't. It felt like regular gravity, only wet. And, despite the fact that he knew he was bleeding, he didn't see any blood swirling in the water.

The woman placed her right hand on his forehead.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Shhh…" she said quietly "Breathe deeply."

Todd suddenly felt very relaxed. His vision blurred a bit, but it didn't concern him for some reason. His mind drifted to the day Amanda was born. Of holding his tiny, newborn sister in his arms. His thoughts swam over the many years with her. Good times and bad. Playing. Partying. Arguing. Holding her in the safety of his big brother arms when she was afraid of a creature living in her closet. He wished he could protect her from everything. He wanted so badly to find her and make it right.

The woman's hand slid down Todd's face, down his neck, until it reached just above his collarbone. Todd found himself thinking about Dirk. Of hating him and being annoyed by him. Of the danger Dirk put him in. Of being angry and calling Dirk a monster and telling him he deserved to be alone. But mostly, he remembered their friendship. Of them saving each other's lives. Of saving Lydia Spring. Rescuing Dirk from Blackwing. Of all the weirdness and adventures they had experienced together. The bond of trust that had grown. How had Dirk become so important to him?

Todd's thinking was still cloudy, but he was starting to grasp a connection that her hands were causing these memories to surface. Could she see them too?

"What are you doing to me?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"Just lay still. Let your mind go free." Her hand moved to his chest.

Farah. The first time he saw her, he was afraid. She was holding a gun and demanding he open his apartment door. He wished he had. How much pain could he have spared her? He thought about rescuing her on the bridge. Her rescuing him countless times after. Her strength and skill and ability to forgive him for all his many faults. That unexpected moment when she kissed him.

"Stop." Said Todd. This was too personal. He wanted this strange woman out of his head.

"You have spirit." She said approvingly. "I'm almost done." She placed one hand on each side of his ribcage.

Todd went rigid as the memories of his pararibulitis attacks swept through his mind in rapid succession.

She sucked in her breath. "Poor thing."

"Why are you doing this?" Todd asked.

"I can help you." She said as her hands moved down to Todd's stab wound.

He expected it to hurt, but it didn't. Then a strange, blue glow came from her hands.

"What… what are you do…" he didn't get to finish before he felt the energy pulsing through his body. It was a bit like being electrocuted, except without the pain. He was also aware of each cell in his body. He could literally feel every building block that made his physical form with such intensity and clarity that he couldn't completely comprehend what he was experiencing. Just when he was sure he couldn't take any more, it began to fade. When the sensation was gone, Todd stared at the strange woman before him.

"Who are you?"

She smiled. "How about we have a chat with your friends."

* * *

Farah had worked her hands free and had nearly released Dirk when the bearded man returned and opened the cage.

"Your friend is waiting for you." He said.

They were led to another chamber and Dirk practically sprinted when he saw Todd.

Todd was sitting on a chair shaped rock that looked as if it were somehow part of the floor. His clothes were soaking wet.

"Are you alright?" Dirk asked as he visibly fought the urge to crush his friend in a hug.

"I'm fine. Better than fine, actually."

Farah could see that was true. The color was back in his face and he was sitting straighter than she had seen him sit in months.

"What happened?" Farah asked.

Todd lifted his shirt. The area that had been covered in red and angry stitches was barely more than a pink line. It looked like a scar from something that happened long ago. Farah was in awe. She ran her fingers across it and felt it was only slightly raised.

"And it doesn't hurt?"

"No." said Todd "I can't feel it at all. It's almost like it never happened."

"The Healing Pool is rather remarkable." Said a woman's voice.

Farah turned and saw a women with bright white hair and eyes.

Dirk stared at her. "You did this. Didn't you?"

She nodded.

"Why?" asked Farah. "Not that we aren't grateful. But we don't know you. Why would you capture us and then heal him?"

"Everything is connected." She said. Then she looked at Dirk. "What do you see?"

"I'm… not sure." He said.

"But you see it, don't you? Even if you can't understand it completely."

Dirk nodded.

"We are a people who prefer to remain… living quietly. In secret from your realm. Those that arrive in our world are either those that mean to strip us of our resources for their own gain, or those that we are meant to encounter for some mutually beneficial purpose. It has been a long time since we encountered the latter. Please excuse us if our hospitality is unpracticed."

"How did you know which we were?" asked Dirk.

"This one." She said, gesturing to Todd. "He is one of the Connected."

"What does that mean?" Todd asked.

"I am afraid you will have to discover that on your own." She replied.

"If you could cure his wound," said Farah "you could cure his disease."

"I already asked." Said Todd. "She says that's different."

"Why?" Farah asked.

"I can only heal the body." The woman explained.

"But it's a nerve disease." Said Todd "Why can't you heal my nerves?"

"It doesn't work like that." She said.

"Please, can you try? You can experiment on me. Help yourself understand it. Then, when I find my sister, you will know how to cure her." Todd had that desperate look in his eyes that he always had when he talked about his missing sister.

"It is not an issue of not understanding it." Said the White Haired Woman. "The issue is that your disease is not physical in nature."

"But it is! It runs in my family and…"

"No Todd. She's right." Said Dirk. He had that odd look on his face that he got when something was starting to click for him. He looked at the woman. "What is it? What am I not seeing?"

"You will know soon." She said.

"This is… insane." Said Farah. "Who are you people? What is this place?"

The woman smiled. "That is far too complex to explain with the short time you have left with us. But we, like your friend Dirk, are part of a world that you did not realize could exist alongside yours. But we do. Countless strange and different worlds and people are everywhere beyond the ones you currently know. You are just beginning your journey. And now, it is time to go."

"You're kicking us out?" said Dirk. "We were just starting to get along."

"We have served our purpose for today." She said "I'm sorry to say that it is unlikely you will find us again. Even if you return to where you encountered us. Our world is far more difficult to enter than most. Clearly, you were meant to come here." She gestured to the tunnel at her left. "Follow it to the outside. Your vehicle is not far. You should have no trouble finding it."

Todd stood and turned to say something to her, but suddenly the light changed, and she was gone. It was just a normal, dark cave. The only light was a dull glow coming from the passage she had instructed them to use. They followed that light to the outside world and blinked at the daylight. Sure enough, they could see their van parked where they had left it on the road. On the ground near the mouth of the cave was Farah's gun. They walked to the van in stunned silence.

They all climbed in and Farah turned the key. The familiar rumble of the engine seemed to bring them all back to reality.

"That was weird." Said Farah. "And that is coming from the standard of people who watched a girl swap souls with a dog."

"Now what?" Todd asked.

"How about you change before you freeze." Said Farah. "You didn't get miraculously healed from a stab wound just to die of hypothermia."

Todd nodded. "That would be anticlimactic."

He went to the back of the van as Dirk buckled himself up front. Farah prayed she wasn't about to regret what she was about to say.

"Where to next, Dirk?"

The delight on his face was overwhelming. "North!" He announced happily. "We need to go North!"

"Alright." Said Farah. "North it is."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Dirk stepped out of the shower. If had felt good to wash off all the road grime. He dressed in his sleep clothes and stepped out into the cheap motel room they were staying in for the time being. Todd was sound asleep on one of the two beds. The pill he took before sleeping was supposed to reduce his chances of having an attack the next day. It also knocked him out so hard that Dirk and Farah had no fear of accidently waking him.

Farah was sitting on the floor with a large map set out in front of her.

"What are you doing?" asked Dirk, making no effort to lower his voice.

"Charting our path." She looked up at him. "I don't suppose the Universe would like to weigh in on our plans?"

Dirk wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic or not, but it really didn't matter. He hadn't felt the pull since he'd told them to go North.

"No." he admitted. "But it hasn't failed us yet!"

"It got us captured." Said Farah.

"Yes, but they healed Todd's stab wound and let us go! I believe that qualifies it to have firmly gone in our favor."

"I suppose that is one way of looking at it." Said Farah. She looked back down at the map and Dirk stepped out their door and into the parking lot.

It was too cold to be outside with wet hair, but still he stood in the golden sunlight of the early morning. The time when most people were waking, but they were just finishing traveling and getting settled to wherever they were going to rest. The crisp air and bright light made Dirk feel alive. He had missed so many glorious mornings when he'd been locked away those four months. He could have burst from joy when Todd and Farah rescued him. It was hard not to just hug them every hour and sob repeated thank you's into their ears. It took so much restraint to just be "clingy" as Todd called him. But how could he not be? They were the air to a life that otherwise felt underwater. Todd had once jokingly asked if Dirk was going to take his and Farah's hands and skip with them through a field of wildflowers. Todd and Farah had laughed. Dirk tried to as well, but it really sounded like a delightful idea.

He thought about the two people he cared about most, and about how they had risked everything to save him. Todd had very nearly died. They were running from Blackwing now only because of their involvement with him. No one had ever stuck with him before. Certainly not this long. Certainly not after he brought so much pain and baggage along with him. Todd had accused Dirk of ruining his life. Dirk knew it was true, even if Todd took it back later. Farah could certainly blame him. Neither of them would be on Blackwing's radar without their involvement with him. Why did he bring pain to the people he most wanted to make happy?

Part of him wondered if he should just run off. Leave them a farewell note and go off on his own. Of course, he wouldn't last long. He knew that. And then they'd launch another rescue. And maybe instead of almost dying, someone would actually die…

 _No. We are safer together._

And deep down, he was thankful for that. He'd been so alone for so long. He felt guilty admitting it, but he was happier fleeing with his friends than living quietly alone.

"What now?" he asked to no one in particular. But he felt no response. Just the chilly breeze and the warm sunbeams. He took a final deep breath of fresh morning air, and then went back inside.

"We should wait." He said simply. "At least a day or two."

"Why?" asked Farah.

"I… I don't know." He admitted.

"Then why should we wait?"

"Look," said Dirk "I'm no expert. I don't even really understand how my… whatever… works. But unless someone else had a brilliant plan, I think we should stay here. Rest a bit. Sleep in a real bed and shower in hot water. We have no reason to believe Blackwing is on to us yet. It would do us good to rest and recoup."

Dirk could practically see the wheels turning in Farah's head. She was calculating. Estimating. Weighing variables and options.

"Fine." She said as she rolled up the map. "We wait."

"Great!" Dirk exclaimed, unable to contain his excitement. "Want to watch a show with me?" he asked as he gestured to the old-fashioned box tv in the room.

She looked like she was about to say no, when her face softened. She shrugged and said "Sure. Why not?"

They sat down on the bed with sleeping Todd between them as they watched a cooking show that Dirk found fascinating. Farah eventually drifted off, with her hand on Todd's chest to always make sure he was still breathing. Dirk was awake a bit longer and then fell asleep himself. The three of them slept like a litter of puppies, and Dirk had never felt so at home.

* * *

The air was icy cold, and the wind was cutting through the thickest of fabrics. Amanda wrapped her arms tightly around herself.

"How much longer?" she asked through chattering teeth.

"Almost done." Said Vogel. He placed the crystal in position on the rock. "You sure about this? It's gonna take a lot."

"Absolutely." Said Amanda with more conviction than she felt. Their previous attempts had not been very successful, and it took days to find a new, compatible location and build up enough power to try again.

"Ready." Said Vogel.

Amanda pulled off her glove and dragged the jagged knife across the palm of her hand. That did it. Icicles burst up from the ground and tore through her flesh. She barely had a moment to register the pararibulitis attack before she felt Vogel pulling the powerful energy out of her body and channeling it into the crystal. It was disorienting and exhausting as she tried to focus and search. She was beginning to think it was another dead end, and then she saw it. A vague silhouette.

"There you are." She breathed as she tried to gain any tiny bit of information she could before the energy faded and she was back to standing next to Vogel in a field. The heat from the energy had melted the snow in a circle around them.

Vogel was practically dancing with excitement. "Did it work? Did you find them?"

"I did. I'm not sure where, but now that we found them once, we can call to them."

"Now what?" he asked.

Amanda wrapped her bloody hand and grinned. "Time for phase two."

* * *

Todd was trying hard not to smile as he watched Dirk get on Farah's last nerve.

"Dirk," Farah said in a slow and deliberate voice "there is no reason to leave the motel in broad daylight to buy doughnuts."

"But doughnuts are just what we need! Doughnuts are both delicious and inspiring! We need at least two dozen. And sprinkles!"

"This is an unnecessary risk." She said firmly.

"This is a very necessary risk!" he cried. "It will lift everyone's spirit! I'll pick them up and be back in a jiff!"

"Absolutely not." She said "Look, I've been willing to follow your wild leads and going where the wind is taking you or whatever it is that happens when you… whatever… but this is different! I'm in charge of keeping us safe and alive and going out to buy fried sugar where anyone can see you isn't within the realm of acceptable risk!"

"The doughnut shop is right across the street. I'll take cash, buy them. And come right back. What could possibly happen?"

Both Todd and Farah stared at him.

"Ok," he said "so a lot could happen. But we'll go mad just waiting! I need to do this! Please?" He made a facial expression that could best be described as "pitiful puppy".

Farah looked at Todd.

"I agree with you." He said "But, good luck stopping him without a tranq gun."

Farah sighed loudly and handed Dirk some cash. "There and back. Quickly. And try to be a little discreet."

Dirk let out a delighted squeal and practically skipped out the door. Farah shook her head.

"Are we going to regret this?" she asked.

"Probably." Said Todd "But knowing Dirk, if we stop him he'll just get something riskier in his head and do that instead."

Todd sat down on the edge of the bed and patted the spot next to him. Farah sat down and looked at her watch. "It's 4:47 pm. Not even dinner time and he's out looking for a sugar high."

"That's Dirk." Said Todd. He looked down and realized that Farah's hand was almost touching his. That realization made him unreasonably nervous. He cautiously slid his hand over the small distance between them so that his hand was on hers. She didn't pull away.

"We… uh… we really haven't been… alone in a while." He said.

"That's true." She said. "Not since…" she trailed off before she said "…Dirk interrupted our almost second kiss."

"Is… is this still what you want?" he asked as he looked down at their hands.

"Yes." She said as she turned her hand over so that their fingers could interlace. "Do you?"

Todd wasn't sure, but he thought he was detecting some uncertainty in her voice as she asked. As if she were a little afraid he would somehow say no.

"Yes." He replied. "I really do."

He looked up into her brown eyes and suddenly he was an eighth-grade boy again and had absolutely no idea how to act around the girl he liked.

 _Why is this so difficult?_ He thought as he tried not to sweat. The awkwardness was tangible.

"This is silly." He said "We're grownups who have been in grown up relationships. This shouldn't be so weird."

"True. But nothing about our relationship has been typical." She said.

"Are you referring to meeting during a hostage exchange or when we rescued your soul swapped client whose father was killed by a kittenshark?"

"Well, there's that. And then there's our having exactly one passionate kiss and then suddenly being forced to go on the run… with Dirk."

"I'm sorry." Said Todd "Are you insinuating that our friend/detective/adopted manchild has somehow put a damper on the romance in our lives?"

Farah laughed. A real laugh where the joy in her smile reached all the way to her eyes. Todd leaned in and kissed her on the lips. She kissed him back.

Their first kiss had surprised him so much that he almost didn't get a chance to savor it. This time he could really feel the soft warmth of her lips and breathe in her scent. She reached out with her free hand and placed it behind his head, gently pulling him into their kiss.

Todd didn't realize he was leaning back until he felt the bed supporting him. Farah started kissing his neck and had he had his hands on her waist. Then his right hand was yanked away in a manner that made him cry out in pain.

Farah pulled back and Todd looked over and saw his wrist was being held against the bed by a thorn covered vine. Blood started to ooze from his wrist as similar vines burst up from the bed and began to wrap around his body.

He screamed.

Farah leapt off him and dove for his pills. A vine began to wrap around his neck.

"Hurry!" he cried.

Farah had a pill in her hand and tried to pull him to a sit up position. That caused the thorns to cut into his flesh and made him cry out. Farah immediately released him and put the pill in his mouth, which he swallowed dry.

Todd closed his eyes and prayed it would kick in quickly as he felt the vine tighten around his neck.

* * *

Farah was sitting on a chair next to the bed, staring intently at Todd. She'd witnessed enough of his attacks to have an idea of what to look for. He was holding perfectly still, but there was tension in his body. That meant he was not paralyzed, but it was painful to move. Most likely there was something sharp pressed against his body. He wasn't still screaming, which was a good sign. His eyes were closed, so he was attempting to stay still and calm, though the tears that were silently falling meant that he was still in a great deal of pain. But the most worrying sign of all was his breathing. It was clear that he was struggling to get enough air. She had the syringe ready, in case she had to inject him with something stronger, but they had agreed not to use it unless he stopped breathing completely.

She felt helpless. She hated that feeling. Sometimes she could help him during his attacks. When he was freezing or electrocuted, he said that someone touching him actually made it feel like the other body was absorbing some of it, and it gave him a little relief. She would hold him tightly until the attack passed. At least then she was doing something. But now she couldn't even touch him. She just sat there, silently staring at him and watching his lips slowly turn blue.

She tried desperately to will him into taking in more air.

 _Breathe._ Her mind pleaded. _Please breathe._

He gasped. His eyes opened, and his face flushed from the sudden rush of oxygen to his brain. He was very still. But his chest was rising and falling much more freely.

"Can you move?" she asked.

"Almost." He said in a quiet voice.

After a moment, she saw him shift his weight slightly. He moved his hands first. Slowly lifting them and checking for resistance. As he started to sit up, Farah put her arm around him and helped him up. He was always exhausted and a little disoriented after an attack. She sat next to him on the bed and started to embrace him, but he pulled away.

That wasn't the response she was expecting. He hadn't pulled away since very early on in their time together. Once, during a particularly horrific attack, she'd held him while he sobbed. When it finally passed, he'd practically melted into her. After that, he had always accepted her attempts to comfort him. At least until now.

"I'm sorry." He said without looking at her.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for." She said.

He was sitting rigid and wouldn't look towards her.

"You do know you have nothing to be embarrassed about, right?" she said.

Todd let out a humorless laugh. "Right."

"It's a condition. You can't control it. I'm not upset at you, if that's what you think. I just want to help." She reached for his hand and he pulled it away. He awkwardly pushed himself up to standing. He had to put his hand on the tv stand to keep from losing his balance.

"I'm tired." He said. "I'm going to get ready for bed."

"Oh. Ok. If that's what you want."

He nodded and walked towards the bathroom. He had to steady himself twice before he made it in. He'd almost had the door shut behind him when Dirk burst in.

"I've found Amanda!" he cried.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Dirk was so excited that he was literally leaning forward against his seatbelt as they drove. His mind was whirring with thoughts and images and memories. They were all connected, he just couldn't quite place how. He was so focused that he was completely oblivious to the awkward silence that had been between his two friends since they left the motel.

"So help me Dirk," Said Farah "if you leap out of this van and run again, I will shoot you in the leg."

"We're close!" he said excitedly "So close!"

He'd gone to buy the doughnuts and saw a corgi walking itself down the street. Unable to let it go without investigating, Dirk followed it for two blocks before losing sight of it. That had lead him to a jacket store which lead to a pizza place which lead to a furniture store. Next door to that was a bar. And hanging outside the bar door was a picture of Vogel.

Apparently, Vogel had been banned from the bar when he and "some biker chick" caused a scene. The security camera caught an image of him, but not her. While there was no image, the barkeep described her as "early 20s, brown hair, hot, and enjoyed giving people the finger". And they were heading towards Caine Creek.

They'd followed a trail of busted bars and beat up vehicles, but the trail was growing cold. The trio was stopping for supplies and hopefully intel that would heat it back up. Farah had a hunch about the pattern of Amanda's movements, and was going to check out a seedy dive on the edge of this tiny, ice covered town. She parked the van and gave instructions about how long to wait before they were supposed to look for her. She skipped the refresher about warning signs that Blackwing was on to them. Dirk was proud that after the last six stops, she finally trusted them to remember.

As she exited the van, Dirk was practically vibrating with excitement.

"This is it, Todd! We're going to find them!"

"I hope this isn't another dead end." Said Todd flatly as he sat down on the cot in the back.

"You're awfully gloomy for someone who is about to find his sister." Said Dirk as he looked back at his friend. It was then that he realized just how downcast Todd really was. "Are you alright?"

"Just… trying not to get my hopes up. We're at least a few days behind them. It will probably take us a while to make that up even if we're going in the right direction."

Dirk kept looking at Todd, who was visibly uncomfortable with Dirk's attention.

"Could you not do that?" said Todd in an aggravated voice.

"Do what?" Dirk asked.

"That… thing you're doing. Your 'I'm in touch with the Universe and can see weird connections in your soul' thing. It's annoying."

"I don't do that." Said Dirk.

Todd rolled his eyes. "Right."

Dirk gasped. He stood up from his seat, very pleased with himself for figuring it out. "I know! I know what would help! Of course! How could I be so stupid? You and Farah haven't had much room for romance since we left our old, exploded hideout. We should take an evening off and you two can have some alone time!"

Todd buried his face in his hands. "That's… not going to help things."

"No." Dirk said "It's perfect. You both need it. Time to 'fan the fames of passion' as they say. I'll talk to Farah and we'll arrange it at once! Just because we are fleeing for our lives doesn't mean you can't have a little date night."

"Dirk, I'm serious. Don't."

"I can arrange the whole thing! You can't really go out, so we'll bring the date in! Candles! Food! Flowers! I'll arrange everything! I'll even step out for a few hours so you two can have some privacy."

"You're being ridiculous. Just stop."

"Oh come on!" Dirk pleaded. "I need to do this. I owe you. And besides, you haven't even had your second kiss!"

"Yes we did!" Todd snapped.

Dirk froze. The harshness in Todd's voice hurt. A lot. The realization of this passed over Todd's face and his expression softened.

"I'm sorry." He said. "This isn't your fault."

Dirk took a cautious step towards him. "Did it… go poorly?"

"Yeah. You could say that."

Dirk sat down on the cot next to him. "What… what happened?"

Todd sighed heavily. "Yesterday, when you were gone, Farah and I started kissing. It got… heated."

Dirk's eyes widened. "Oh no. Was the sex bad?"

Todd glared at him. "What? No! Nothing like that."

"So, the sex was good?"

"There was no sex!" Todd snapped. Then in a more controlled voice he said, "We never got close."

"She didn't want to?" Dirk asked.

"What?"

"Or you didn't want to?"

"That's not what I'm getting at. Sex wasn't even on the table. We were just kissing and then…."

"You two realized you no longer had feelings for each other?"

Todd looked annoyed. "No."

Dirk gasped. "She changed her mind about dating you?!"

"Will you just shut up and let me finish?"

Dirk made a "zip" motion across his mouth. Todd collected himself and continued.

"We were kissing, and it was great, and nobody was changing their mind about anything. And then I… I had an attack."

"A pararibulitis attack?" Dirk asked.

"No, a dance attack. What do you think?!"

"I'm just trying to keep up. You're a bit or a choppy storyteller. This tale has no flow whatsoever."

"Forget it." Said Todd as he started to stand up.

Dirk grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"No, please! I'm sorry. I'll listen."

Todd sat back down.

"So," said Dirk "kissing, good, no one changing their mind about the other, pararibulitis attack, me not talking. Go."

Todd rubbed his temples. "Yeah, so that killed the mood. And as I'm laying there, immobile and crying in front of the woman I'm crazy about, I realize I can't do this."

"Do what?"

"This! Normal stuff. Romance stuff. My body literally prevents it. Because of my disease, I can't even have sex."

Dirk gasped. "Pararibulitis makes you impotent?"

"No!" Todd exclaimed "I'm not impotent! Are you even listening?"

"Yes, and you said it keeps you from being able to have sex. It's a natural thought progression to go to…"

"Intense emotion can trigger attacks!" Todd practically yelled at him.

"But why would that…" the realization hit him. "Oh." Dirk blinked. "Well, a lot of people date without having sex."

"Right, but what's the hope here? That we eventually break it off? What if we're still on the run? What if it ends badly and we're still just trying to stay alive together?"

"Maybe it won't end." Said Dirk "Maybe you two will stay together."

"And have a nice, long, sexless marriage where we grow old with no kids or grandkids since, even I do manage to do something before I burst into flames or get dipped in acid or whatever, I can't make a kid! I could have my disease pass on! I can't do that to my child!"

"Ok, Todd you're getting ahead of yourself. You're talking about marriage and hypothetical children with a woman you haven't really even technically dated yet."

"Fine. Let's talk shorter term. I can't do this. I can't even enjoy being together because of all the 'what ifs' we have looming over us. And I got so excited about being with her… about her returning the feelings I've had for her for months, that I actually forgot what a nightmare it is to be around me. She has seen me at my worst over and over again and I'm asking her to shift and somehow see me as her boyfriend too? Even with all the screaming and crying and hallucinating and vomiting and embarrassment and everything? How could she ever be alright with that?"

"You're looking at this all wrong." Said Dirk "You've got it all backwards. You're wanting her to see you as this dashing, romantic figure that can sweep her off her feet, and are afraid of your other side with all this happening and that it will repulse her. But she's seen that already. She saw it before she ever had feelings for you. She's seen you at your most pathetic and vulnerable and yet, she still wants you! Isn't that what you want in a relationship? A real one anyway. Someone who loves you even at your worst?"

Todd was silent. After a while, he stood up and grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler. Todd was thinking so hard that Dirk could practically see his mind working. Finally, he spoke, with a voice so quiet it was barely audible.

"What if she only wants me because I've been her only option? She could do so much better if we could be with normal people in a normal world. If we finally escape Blackwing and can go back to having real lives, what chance would I stand?"

Dirk's eyes narrowed. "You are being ridiculous. Do you honestly think she is just some naïve girl who wandered in with you and fell because you are the closest thing to a man she's ever met? She's been out there. Hell, she's even dated. She has seen who is out there and she still chose you just as much as you chose her. You didn't fall for her just because she's the only woman around, did you?"

"No!" Todd said in an insulted tone. "She's incredible. You know that. She's intelligent and capable and beautiful and strong. I've never met anyone like her. I'd still want to be with her if I could be with anyone on the planet."

"So, what's the difference?" Dirk asked. "Why can't she pick you?"

"Because I have nothing to offer her! Nothing. Not a future. Not children. I can't even save my own ass let alone protect her. She's the one who has been keeping me alive."

"Are you mad?!" cried Dirk "Are you really going to get your knickers in a knot because you can't give her children you don't even know if she wants, or protection which she certainly does not need?! And if that's the type of man she was looking for, you never would have stood a chance anyway."

Todd looked hurt. "So, you're saying she just wants me because I can't take care of myself? That I'm some sort of 'Dude in Distress' that she can feel good about constantly rescuing?"

"That's not what I said. That's what you said. And if that's what you're worried about, then I can't help you. You are going to have to come to peace with who you are for yourself before you will ever be able to accept someone else loving you for who you are. And I have news for you, there are people in your life that do love you as you are, whether you choose to accept that or not."

Todd looked away. Dirk stood and approached his friend. "You've spent your whole life trying to live lies and keep up appearances. Now you're here and stripped to the core and have the unbelievable fortune of your pain and mistakes and vulnerability being exposed in front of people who see that side of you and still love you. This isn't just about romance you know. It's about accepting yourself so that you can believe that others can accept you as well. Until you do that you won't have romance or friendships or be able to patch things up with Amanda. You will just keep living like someone who believes he is useless and cannot understand why anyone would think anything else about him."

For a moment, it looked like Todd was going to argue, but then his shoulders slumped, and he looked at the ground. Dirk put his hand on Todd's shoulder. Todd looked up, and Dirk said,

"There's still some ice cream left in the cooler. We should eat it."

Todd chuckled and sniffed. "Ice cream doesn't solve everything you know."

"It solves most things." Said Dirk.

* * *

Dead end. They couldn't find a single lead on Amanda.

Dirk was getting a rare turn driving. Farah was making frustrated faces while she went over her notes, trying to find a pattern.

"You're sure you don't feel anything?" said Todd. "Any Universe pulling at all?"

Dirk sighed. "No. Just the pull of wanting to sleep in a bed tonight. How far is the next town?"

"About an hour." Said Farah. "We are beyond middle of nowhere."

Dirk sighed. "Then I will certainly need another shot of caffeine. Todd, would you be so kind as to get me a soda?"

"What type?" Todd asked as he walked back to the cooler.

"The dark kind." Dirk replied. He looked at the wooded scenery surrounding the barely paved road. It was almost hypnotic seeing miles and miles of trees go by.

The quiet moment was interrupted by Todd slamming his hand repeatedly against the floor.

"Stop the van!" Farah yelled.

Dirk slammed on the breaks and heard various items and Todd tumble across the floor in the back. Farah unbuckled and leapt to the back of the van. Dirk wasn't far behind.

What Dirk saw was horrifying. Todd was on the floor, mouth open in a silent scream. His eyes were bulging, and his face was purple.

"He's not getting any air!" cried Farah as she pulled out the syringe with practiced speed and precision. She injected Todd in his leg as if it were an epi pen.

At first, nothing happened. Dirk watched in helpless terror as Todd stopped struggling and the life began draining from his eyes.

Then a gasp.

"Sit him up!" Farah ordered.

Dirk obeyed and pushed Todd up to a sitting position just as Farah shoved a bucket under Todd's face. They were just in time as Todd's body began violently throwing up.

Dirk gagged.

When the vomiting stopped, Todd began shaking all over like he had horrible chills. Farah and Dirk carefully lowered him back to the floor as Farah spoke in a reassuring voice.

"You're alright. It's ok now. You're breathing. It's almost over. Stay calm. Don't fight it. We've got you. Stay calm. Stay calm."

Farah's voice was surprisingly soothing. Dirk had to remind himself she was talking to Todd and not him.

They sat there with him until the twitching stopped and Todd's body went heavy and limp.

"How long will he be asleep?" asked Dirk.

"He's not asleep. He's paralyzed. It will wear off in a bit."

Dirk stared at his friend. "You mean, he can hear us right now?"

Farah nodded. "He's aware of everything. He just can't move."

"How awful!" said Dirk before he caught himself. He looked over at Todd. "Sorry."

"We can't stay here parked in the middle of the road." She put a hand on Todd's shoulder. "Todd, we have to go. We're going to secure you in the cot. You'll be safer there." She looked at Dirk. "Help me move him."

As gently as possible, the two of them placed Todd on the cot. They strapped him down securely, even putting a strap across his forehead to keep his head from flopping around in case they had to slam on the breaks again.

"Call us when you can, and we'll let you out." Said Farah before she went to the driver's seat.

"How long will he be like this?" asked Dirk.

"It's usually less than ten minutes." She said "But there are a lot of variables that can affect it."

Dirk kept looking back to check on Todd. While he wasn't sure of the exact time they had injected him, Dirk was sure they were past the ten minute mark. Dirk could see the rise and fall of Todd's breathing, but no signs of voluntary movement.

Finally, Dirk glanced back and saw Todd's eyelids fluttering open.

"Finally!" Dirk said with a sigh. "I was starting to…"

And then the van flipped over.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Todd had been reaching into the cooler for Dirk's soda when he felt all the air being sucked out of the room. When he couldn't call for help, he dropped to the floor and began hitting it with his hand to signal that something was wrong.

When Dirk slammed on the breaks, Todd tumbled hard, but he barely noticed as his vision blurred from the total lack of air. He felt his panic fade and knew he didn't have long. There was a vague sensation of the injection in his leg, then nothing as his consciousness began giving way to darkness.

Then air. It filled him with life and his body greedily pulled it in. But in the back of his mind, he remembered what was next.

He felt his stomach push everything up. It was a horrible feeling, but at least they caught it in a bucket this time. Then came the twitching. That part had scared him so bad the first time Farah injected him. He had no idea what was happening as his muscles spasmed uncontrollably for what felt like ages. At least now he knew to expect it. It didn't make it any more pleasant, but he knew what was happening and that it would eventually stop.

The worst part was the paralysis. He went from uncontrollable muscle movement to going heavy and limp like a rag doll full of sand. He was still in a disoriented state from the attack, and it was hard to stay calm and focused as his body reacted to the drug. He could hear Farah. She was speaking in a soothing voice and helping him stay focused and calm despite what his body was doing.

After he was lifted and strapped to the cot, he wondered how long he'd be stuck there. He was a little relieved they had gone back to driving. He didn't exactly want an audience while he tried to regain control of his uncooperative body.

He wished he had some concept of time as he laid there. It felt far too long, but he reminded himself that Farah always kept track of the time and wouldn't leave him like that forever. Though he strongly suspected that this was a bit longer than usual.

"Any change?" Farah asked. He could tell from where her voice was coming from that she was driving.

"No." said Dirk in a disappointed tone. "His breathing still looks good though. So, there's that."

There was silence for a long time. Todd tried once again to move and felt his eyes begin to open.

He heard Dirk's voice.

"Finally! I was starting to…"

The next few seconds were a blur of glass breaking and metal bending and feeling weightless as the van rolled. Todd was disoriented by the suddenness of it all, but eventually realized they had crashed and rolled at least once before landing right side up again. He could smell gasoline.

"F… Farah! Dirk! Are you alright?"

No answer. He called a few more times with the same result. Todd pulled against the restraints. While he was thankful that they had held during the crash, he was incredibly frustrated that they were continuing to keep him pinned down. Todd groaned and twisted and eventually worked his right hand loose. He went through the long process of unstrapping himself, and then tumbled onto the floor.

He still had enough of the drug in his system that he struggled to keep his balance as he scrambled over the debris of their tossed belongings and made his way to the front of the van.

Farah's face was covered in blood.

"No no no no no…" Todd said as he stepped over the broken glass and felt for a pulse.

She was alive.

Todd felt a wave or relief, and then turned to look at Dirk.

Dirk had a cut on his cheek and his eyes kept drifting open and closed.

"Dirk, can you hear me?"

"Uh…" he moaned "a little."

"Can you move?" Todd asked.

Dirk slowly reached over and unbuckled himself. "I won't win any races, but I'm alright."

"Farah's hurt. The car is leaking fuel. We need to get out in case it catches fire."

"Right." Said Dirk as he tried to collect himself.

Todd looked over at Farah's door and saw that it was crushed. Whatever hit, hit them right where she was sitting.

"What happened?" Todd asked as wrestled with Farah's seatbelt buckle.

"I have no idea. I was looking back at you and then we were flying. And falling. And rolling. Lots of unpleasant movement in which cars were not designed to participate."

Todd got the seatbelt off her and lifted her unconscious body. His muscles still weren't functioning right, and it was a struggle to carry her out the side door of the van. He didn't get her as far from the van as he had hoped, but his strength gave out and he lowered her gently in the snow. At least she was off the road. It was then that he realized Dirk had never followed them.

Todd went back into the van and found Dirk face down between the two front seats. Todd grabbed the first aid kit and a bag of his meds and threw them out of the open door. He figured they would need them, and he wasn't sure how much time the van had left. He then began dragging Dirk out the door. Dirk wasn't a lot bigger than Todd, but between his body still not working correctly and the exertion of carrying another human already, Todd was rapidly running out of strength. He tried to be as gentle as possible as he hauled Dirk out of the van and into the road. Todd was sweating, and his muscles were screaming as he continued to drag Dirk towards where Farah was laying. Finally, he managed to lay Dirk next to Farah. He then realized they were all in the snow with no coats.

Todd turned back to the van to grab some blankets and supplies when it exploded. Todd dropped to the ground and tried to use his body to shield the others from the debris. When the explosion died down to a lethargic fire, Todd looked back to see if maybe something could be saved. Nothing. Not their coats, not blankets, not water, not weapons, not food… nothing. With the exception of the medical stuff he had tossed, everything was gone.

Todd tried to open the first aid kit, but his hands were too cold and numb. He cursed and smacked the case as if he could intimidate it into opening.

"I'm sorry." He said as his hands continued to uselessly fumble over the latch for the kit. "I'm trying. I swear I'm trying."

The adrenaline was wearing off and he was so tired. He felt like he was going to drop right there. He was feeling the cold and just wanted to curl up and sleep. But he had to figure something out. They couldn't just die here. He forced his wobbly legs to go up the hill next to the road where they were laying at the bottom. Maybe, somehow, there would be something up there that would help them. He reached the top and saw two figures. They were arguing.

"Are you crazy? We can't go towards the explosion! We have no idea what it was or who was there or who might show up!"

"Hey!" Todd called as he waved his hands. "We need help! Please help!" He dropped to his knees, unable to keep standing.

He heard a dog bark and it came bounding towards him and licked his face. The other two figures followed the dog and he heard a man's voice say "Easy, Rapunzel."

Todd knew that voice. _No way._ He looked up and saw Ken, Bart, and their corgi looking at him.

"Hey there, Wild Card." Said Bart. "Need a hand?"

* * *

A heated can of chicken noodle soup had never tasted so good. Judging by the looks on their faces, Dirk and Farah agreed.

Ken and Bart had gotten them back to a cottage they had taken over. Thankfully, they had just broken in and no one had to die over it. Apparently, it was a vacation home for someone who was elsewhere. When Todd had asked them why they were there, Bart just shrugged and said "Universe." Ken didn't have a more detailed explanation, so Todd just dropped it.

Farah woke up as they were getting them to the cottage. Todd was once again amazed at how tough she was. They got in and cleaned up/examined all the cuts and bruises. Thankfully, no one was as hurt as they had feared. Despite still being a bit woozy, Farah insisted on going back and seeing the van. The fire was out and there were only charred remains. They were also able to see what they hit, or rather, what hit them.

A large, pointed, pyramid like, black rock that was roughly the size of a garage had jutted out of the road and into their van.

"Weird." Said Bart.

"Understatement." Said Ken.

"What is it?" asked Todd.

"It doesn't look like any rock I've ever seen." Said Farah.

She was right. There was something undeniably "otherworldly" about it. None of them could put their finger on it, but something about it seemed strange. Something besides the fact that it had erupted out of the road.

They all went back to the cottage to warm up and eat their can of soup.

"I had eyes on the road." Said Farah. "And it literally burst out with no warning and hit us."

"How long before someone stumbles on the remains of the van?" asked Todd.

"No one comes through here." Said Ken. "Most maps don't even have this road. It could be a while."

"But what about the rock thing?" asked Todd "Won't that attract someone?"

"If anyone had detected it, they'd be here already." Said Farah "Someone will have to find it by accident."

"It's connected." Said Dirk.

Farah rubbed her temples. "Yes, Dirk. We know. Everything is connected."

Dirk shook his head. "No, more than that. It's close. We're close. I can almost see it. Why can't I see it?!" He threw his empty bowl and it clattered on the ground.

Everyone stared at him and his uncharacteristic display.

"Drama Queen." Bart muttered as she slurped her soup straight from the bowl.

"Sorry." Said Dirk as some red rushed to his cheeks. "It's just… frustrating."

Todd sat down next to his friend. "What is it? What do you see?"

"I'm not sure." Dirk said with a pained look on his face. "It's just so close. We're so close. Maybe that's why I can't see it. Maybe I'm too close."

"We're staying here one night and then leaving." Said Farah. "We can't risk someone stumbling on that thing and us being found. We should be ok tonight with the distance between us and that, but we have to be ready to run just in case."

"How do we leave?" asked Todd. "We're in the middle of nowhere without a car in a place that has been snowing for the last hour and keeps getting colder and we don't even have real coats."

"We have a car." Said Ken.

They all looked at him.

"You do?" said Farah.

"Yeah. It will be tight, but we can drive you into the next town. We have some coats too." He looked at Bart.

She shrugged. "Why not? We'll get you as far as the town and then you're on your own."

Todd looked to his two friends. "Sound good?"

"I… think so?" Said Dirk.

"Alright." Said Farah. "Let's do it."

* * *

Farah winced silently as she changed the bandage on her forehead. It wasn't as bad as it had looked. Scalp wounds have a tendency to gush disproportional amounts of blood. Her skin was pulled as she removed the gauze that had stuck to her skin from the crusted blood. Changing the bandage aggravated the cut and it started to bleed again. She cleaned it out and put a fresh bandage on it. She came out of the bathroom and saw Todd setting an alarm on the clock next to the bed.

"I'll be waking you every hour." Said Todd "To make sure that bump on the head wasn't worse than we thought. Making sure you can be roused is standard procedure for someone with a concussion."

"And who will wake you?" asked Farah. "You could sleep through the Apocalypse."

"Not without my pill I can't. I'm not taking it tonight."

"What?" Said Farah "Why would you do that?"

"It's not helping anyway." Said Todd "It's supposed to reduce my number of attacks, but it's not."

"Or maybe it is and you would be even worse off without it." Replied Farah.

"The drugs are getting less effective. We knew this would happen. The doctor even warned us."

"But they haven't stopped working completely. It still might…"

Todd shook his head. "One night. If tomorrow is bad, I'll try it again. This is my decision and this is what I decide."

Her eyes narrowed. "This is a bad decision."

"Maybe. But it's the one I made." He patted the spot next to him on the bed.

Farah shook her head. "I'm mad at you." She said.

"Why? Because I won't take my pill?"

"This is an unnecessary risk!" she said angerly.

"How is that? An unnecessary risk is no one waking you up each hour after you had a head injury. An unnecessary risk is me taking a pill that probably doesn't even help anything that knocks me on my ass when you said yourself that we may have to make a run for it if rock thing gets discovered. We're not that far from a pyramid from an alternate dimension or whatever and it is practically screaming for Blackwing to show up and track us down and our burned up van is right next to it and you are expecting me to be immobile and useless in the event that we have to evacuate!"

"That's different!" she exclaimed.

"You're willing to risk hauling me as dead weight through the snow while being chased down for a slight chance that this might reduce my chance of a pararibulitis attack? How does that make sense?"

"Dirk and I can carry you! We can't force you to breathe or keep you from bursting into flames or your heart stopping from the strain! I can't protect you from that! And yes, if there is a slight chance that this will keep an attack from happening, it is worth whatever risk we have to take!"

Todd stared at her. Then he stood and took her hands in his.

"I'm dying." He said softly.

"Don't say that." She said as she snatched her hands away.

"But it's true. The drugs are rapidly losing their effectiveness. My disease is progressing unusually fast. Sure, I could have years, but people that live a long time with this are the ones who progress slowly. The ones in the drug resistant stage usually don't last very long. Now, maybe I'll be the exception. Maybe I still have years. But it could also be hours or even minutes. Eventually, this will kill me. My heart will stop or my lungs will hemorrhage or I'll have a stroke or whatever. But one day those drugs won't be able to save me."

"You don't know that! There could be new treatments or a discovery that leads to a cure or…"

"You can't save me from this, Farah!" he cried. "You have literally, singlehandedly been keeping me alive for these last few months. You've kept me from being kidnapped and getting my medicine when I can't and helping me keep going, but this is different. My body is shutting down. I keep having more attacks and that injection almost didn't work in time."

Todd stepped towards her and took her hand. She didn't pull away this time.

"Thank you for everything. But this is it. I'm hoping to find Amanda before I… you know. But even if I don't, I know you and Dirk will find her and keep her safe."

Farah's hand tightened around Todd's. She didn't want to lose him. He was the first real friend she ever had. The first person that she let see who she truly was that didn't run away or try to change her. Even before things turned romantic, he had been there for her in a way no one ever had before. She took a breath. "You are important. To me. To Dirk. To Amanda. And I will do whatever it takes and take whatever risks I need to if it means it buys you even minutes. And even a chance is worth it!"

Todd was staring at her. He reached up and put his hand on her shoulder. "Then tomorrow, I will take my pill. If that's what you want, if that will give you peace, I'll do it. But tonight I need you to let me watch out for you for a change."

"I don't like it." She said.

"I know. But someone's gotta wake Dirk up too. No sense in you both being unable to wake the other. But I'll even take my pill in the morning if you want. I'll sleep the whole drive to town."

Farah swallowed a lump in her throat. "Ok. Compromise." She held out her hand to shake on it.

"Compromise." He said as he shook her hand.

"And Todd."

"Yeah."

"You're not dying. I won't let that happen."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The drive was long and boring. After a night of Todd waking both Farah and Dirk every hour, they were all overtired and grouchy. Bart, Ken, and Rapunzel road in the front of the sedan, while Dirk, Farah, and Todd road in the back. It was so tight in the back that everyone's hips were smashed together. Clearly, this car was not meant to have three adults in the back at once.

Todd had taken his pill as soon as he got in, and it knocked him out fast. They had put him in the middle since he would be sleeping anyway and not really needing to look out the window for either tactical information or boredom. But whenever Bart made a sharp turn, which was often, he would flop over onto either Dirk or Farah. Ken suggested laying Todd across the back on their laps, but after the accident, Farah was opposed to anyone going without a seatbelt. Especially with Bart driving.

They made it to the town, and Bart even helped Farah steal a car. They got a motel room and parted ways with the holistic assassin and her assisfriend. Farah began planning their next move and Dirk paced the room in boredom. Eventually, Todd woke up.

"What's the plan?" he asked as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"We have no leads." Said Farah with unhidden frustration.

"We need inspiration!" said Dirk. "Let's get pizza!"

After a lengthy argument over whether it should be delivered or picked up, Dirk insisted he should be the one to get it. As much as Farah's instincts and training fought against the idea, she relented and gave Dirk the money and let him go.

The trip to the pizza parlor was disappointingly dull. Not a single strange happening, coincidence, or pull from the universe. He wondered how on earth they would know what to do next. He walked as slowly as he could to give Todd and Farah as much alone time as possible. He wasn't sure how much they had talked out, but they seemed to be back to their old selves with each other. He even saw Todd take Farah's hand as they were talking. Maybe they'd finally have a little break from all the craziness to have a little romantic interlude. Preferably one that didn't end with Todd almost dying.

He entered the room and didn't see them. That was odd. Then he looked down and saw Todd's clothes on the floor.

"Oh." He said as he started to back out of the room. His cheeks were red with embarrassment of what he'd nearly walked in on.

"Dirk!" It was Farah's voice, and it was coming from the bathroom.

"Yes. Sorry. I'll leave."

"Get in here! Now!"

Dirk put down the pizzas and walked cautiously into the bathroom. Todd was in the tub. He'd been stripped to his underwear and the water was up to his mid chest. His head was leaning back on a towel that supported him like a pillow. He did not look well.

"What's happened?" Dirk asked.

"He's having at attack." Said Farah "He's roasting. I can't get his temperature down." She put on her coat. "Stay with him. Make sure his head stays above the water. I'll be right back."

She left, and Dirk knelt next to the tub. Todd's eyes were glassy and unseeing. His face was covered in sweat. His skin was flushed, and he looked miserable.

"Oh Todd." Dirk said as he placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. Dirk was shocked at how hot his skin felt. He couldn't imagine how horrible it must feel to be trapped in that skin. Todd's head turned lethargically to face Dirk. His expression looked confused as his eyes struggled to see what was in front of him.

"Dirk?" he asked weakly.

"That's right. I'm here."

Todd's eyes faded out of focus again. Dirk fought a fearful tug in his gut.

Farah came back in with a wastebasket full of snow from outside. She began scooping it into the bath. Dirk got a wet cloth and put it on Todd's forehead.

"Where are his pills?" Dirk asked.

"He's already had a dose. It's not working."

She took out the ear thermometer from the first aid kit and checked Todd's temperature again. When it beeped, she looked at the number and swore.

"What?" said Dirk.

"His temp is still climbing. If this keeps up, he's going to seizure."

Todd groaned. His eyes had drifted closed.

Farah took the cloth from Dirk and ran more cold water over it before gently using it on Todd's face and neck.

"Hang in there, alright. Just hang in there. Dirk and I are here. We've got you. Hold on a little longer."

Eventually, Dirk brought Farah a piece of pizza.

"You should eat something." He said.

She shook her head. "I'm fine."

"You can't help him if you don't keep your own strength up." He said as he pushed a slice of supreme towards here.

She sighed and took it.

"What happened?" Dirk asked. "Was it triggered by… you know… again?"

Farah shook her head. "Of course he told you about that."

"Sorry!" Said Dirk quickly. "I didn't realize…"

"No, it's fine. You're best friends and I guess that's what best friends talk about."

Dirk tried not to smile when she called him Todd's best friend.

"No." she said "That wasn't what triggered it. He was just feeling like the room was too warm for a while and by the time we figured out what was happening, it was pretty far into the attack. The ones that start slow can be tricky that way. That could be why the pill didn't work." She took out the thermometer and checked his temperature again.

"Any change?" Dirk asked.

"He's come down half a degree."

"That's good!" Dirk exclaimed.

"It could be a fluke." Said Farah.

"How will we know?" he asked.

"If it keeps dropping, we'll know."

* * *

Todd lost all sense of time as he sat baking in an oven. He was sometimes aware of Dirk and Farah's presence, but his poor, cooked brain couldn't comprehend what was happening.

Then, at last, he opened his eyes and saw the motel bathroom. Farah and Dirk were staring at him.

Todd blinked. "What's going on?"

"We've been trying to cool you off for nearly an hour." Said Farah.

"An hour? The pills didn't work?"

"Not this time." Said Farah "But we'll try them again. This may have just been a bad one. And we were really late getting the medicine in you."

Todd realized he was in the tub.

"I had to find a way to bring down your temperature. I thought a cold bath would be best." Said Farah.

"Makes sense. Looks like it worked."

"Not as fast as I would have liked, but at least you're alright now." She checked his temperature. "Much better. You're almost back down to normal."

"Want to get out?" asked Dirk. "I suspect you're quite pruney by now."

"Yeah." Said Todd. "That would be…"

Todd heard a strange, cracking sound. He looked and saw the water was turning to ice.

"No!" he cried. His breath caused a cloud to form in front of his face.

Farah grabbed his shoulder. "Todd, what's happening?"

The water began rapidly freezing over, trapping the majority of his body underneath.

"C… cold…" he sputtered as the frigid temperature knocked the breath out of him.

"Get him out!" Farah ordered as she and Dirk pulled him out of the tub. The ice shattered as they lifted him, but he felt no less cold as he shivered on the floor.

"Dry him off!"

Todd was shivering so hard that they practically had to wrestle him down with the towels. His teeth were chattering with such force that he was sure they would break. He could feel his toes freezing solid. The sensation began to travel up his feet and legs.

"Stop!" he cried as if he could tell it what to do.

"What's happening?!" asked Farah as she rubbed his arm to get the circulation going.

"M… my legs! Fr… fro… frozen solid!"

"Todd, Todd just listen. Stay calm. This has happened before. Remember? Just stay as calm as you can. Close your eyes so that they don't dry out and relax as much as possible. We'll be here. We'll watch over you. You're safe."

Farah's voice was amazingly composed. She was so often his anchor that kept him centered during the chaos of his disease. Especially times like this. He took a deep breath as he felt the sensation reach the bottom of his ribcage. He forced his arms to lay at his sides. Farah stroked his hair while he tried to ignore the pounding of his heart and began the relaxation breathing that Farah taught him. His chest and arms froze.

"I've got you." She said gently. "I've got you."

"Th… thank… thank you." He got the words out just before his face froze over.

* * *

Farah's voice was calm, but her mind was terrified. Just as one attack was under control, the next popped up. Compound attacks were a very bad sign.

"Todd, can you hear me?" asked Dirk.

"He can't. He's frozen solid. At least his body thinks it is."

She checked the pulse on his neck. It was strong and steady, though a bit fast. He was scared.

"It's alright." Said Farah to him as she stroked his hair.

"I thought he couldn't hear us." Said Dirk.

"I know. But just in case. Or maybe it just lets me feel like I'm doing something when I can't do anything."

Dirk nodded. He stood and took a blanket from the bed and the two of them tucked it around Todd. Farah took his temperature.

"At least that's fine." She said.

"How is that possible?" asked Dirk "He's frozen solid."

"He's not really frozen." Said Farah.

"He wasn't really boiling alive before either, but it still gave him a nearly fatal fever."

"I don't know." She admitted. "Nothing about this disease makes sense. His temp didn't drop the last time he froze either."

"So, this has happened before. When?"

"About two months ago. His muscles locked into a really uncomfortable position. He's laying flat this time. Should be a lot better. The good news is this type of attack doesn't last very long. He should be fine soon."

She checked his pulse again and found it was a little slower. She let out a sigh of relief. He was calming down. The pain must not be too bad.

"How can they come like this?" asked Dirk. "One right after the other."

"It's a compound attack. They're rare but…" she trailed off.

Dirk mouthed the words. "He's getting worse."

Farah nodded. Dirk looked like he was going to burst into tears.

"You're doing great, Todd!" Dirk said loudly and with an unnecessary smile. "Just in case you can hear me, just know I believe in you!"

Farah held onto Todd's stiff hand as they sat in silence. Then Todd's breathing changed. He opened his eyes.

"Here we go." Said Farah. "Told you it wouldn't be long."

Todd groaned.

"How are you feeling?" asked Dirk.

"I'm… ok I guess."

"Was it a bad one?" asked Dirk as he tried to offer Todd a slice of cold pizza.

"Actually, it was… weird."

"Weird how?" asked Farah.

"Weird like I think I know where to go to find Amanda."

* * *

Todd felt uncomfortable taking point on their new lead. A weak lead at that, but it was the only one they had. When the attack started the day before, he was roasting alive and was lost in the confusion and fever dreams. But he felt something. A pull. And he kept seeing something. A woman and a mountain and a crystal. After a while, he realized the woman was Amanda. He could hear her too, but he couldn't tell what she was saying. He thought it was just from the fever, but then it kept going when he froze. He was only vaguely aware of Farah and Dirk's presence, but Amanda felt so close that he was sure he could reach out and touch her. She was calling to him. Asking him to help her. Pulling him towards her.

 _I need your help._

He could feel something tugging inside him. Pulling him somewhere. He kept seeing the clearing. The mountain. Then he realized he couldn't just see it, he could feel it.

 _Help me._

The minivan Farah was driving was equipped with a DVD player. Dirk found a copy of Bambi under the seat and couldn't wait to see the classic movie for the first time. It was keeping him quietly transfixed in the back of the car.

"Which way?" Farah asked as they approached a fork in the road.

Todd closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he concentrated on the pull.

"Left. Go left."

She nodded and turned the wheel. "Still pretty strong then?" she asked.

"Stronger. It almost hurts it's so strong. Like a magnet pulling me. I think we're close."

"Why are you feeling it and not Dirk? This doesn't make sense."

"Nothing makes sense anymore. We lost our last vehicle because a freaky pyramid sprung out of the ground and hit us."

"Speaking of which…" said Farah as she pulled over.

"What is it?" asked Todd as Farah unbuckled.

"Do you see it?" she asked as she exited the car.

Todd raced after her. It didn't take him long to see what she meant. There, integrated in the snow covered forest, was a blue tree. It was twisted and metallic looking. There were deep purple leaves hanging on the branches. All the trees around it were stripped of their leaves for winter, but this one stood in defiance with its full plumage of jewel tone leaves.

Todd groaned.

Farah spun around to face him. "Are you ok?"

Todd nodded. "Yes. But the pull… This isn't the right way and I can feel it. I don't know how to explain it."

The two of them went back to the car. Dirk was sobbing in the backseat.

"What is wrong with you Americans?! This is supposed to be for children! Children!"

Todd tried hard not to laugh as he handed back a box of tissues. "You'll survive the trauma. We all do."

"You're all mad!" Dirk cried as he blew his nose.

Nearly three hours later, they were still driving. At some point the pull got so strong that it crossed the threshold into painful. Todd had his arms wrapped around himself and was trying not to cry. He hoped they were almost there, because he wasn't sure how much more he could take.

"Stop here." He said.

"What's wrong?" asked Farah.

"The road goes the wrong way." He said. "We have to walk."

Farah drew her gun and Dirk walked close to Todd. It hurt for Todd to walk towards it, but it hurt more to pull away. He needed to follow it like he needed air. It became an almost desperate feeling as he moved towards it.

"We're close." He muttered. "We're close."

It was cold, and the snow was over their shoes, but they kept moving. Todd saw it. The mountain. Exactly like in his vision.

"We have to get over this hill. The clearing is below it. That's where we need to be. At the base of that mountain up ahead."

Dirk and Farah had to help him climb, but they made it to the top and gasped at what they saw. In the middle of the clearing was a large, orange crystal that was pulsing with light. Two figures stood near it. One male, one female. The female figured turned and looked at them.

"What are you doing here?" asked Amanda.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The pain vanished as soon as Todd got within twenty feet of the crystal.

"This doesn't make sense." Said Amanda. "You shouldn't be here!"

"But you called me." Todd said. "I heard you. You said you needed me. I saw you and I saw this place."

The horrified look on Amanda's face made Todd's stomach drop.

"Not you! I wasn't calling to you! How could I have possibly have screwed up so bad that I called you?!"

She kicked the ground angerly. Todd was crushed.

"But I… I've been searching for you. For months I've been searching everywhere. I was so worried. I…"

"Go home, Todd." She said. "Just go home. You shouldn't be here."

Todd couldn't speak. He was heartbroken.

"Why did you call Todd?" Farah asked.

"I didn't!" Amanda cried. "It was an accident. I was trying to call someone else."

"Who?" asked Farah.

"I… I don't know. Not him. Someone that could help."

It was a punch in the gut.

"Maybe we can help." Said Farah.

Amanda shook her head. "No. You three need to get far away. Blackwing is coming."

"Then let us help!" exclaimed Farah. "We've been fighting them. We infiltrated their headquarters to save Dirk and the Rowdies. We've been trying to stay one step ahead of them. We've studied them for months. We can help you face them!"

"Not this time." She said.

"Where are the other Rowdies?" Dirk asked. "Surely they found you by now."

"They're getting ready." Said Vogel.

"For what?" asked Dirk.

"For it doesn't matter because I have it under control!" Amanda snapped. "Get Todd out of here!"

Todd was about to speak when the air became thick. And wet. His feet lifted off the ground. He was floating. He was drowning.

* * *

Farah could almost hear Todd's heart shatter from Amanda's words. She wanted so badly to comfort him, but it wasn't time for that. They still had a mission.

"Just tell us your plan." Said Farah. "We can help. We already escaped Blackwing twice. We could be valuable assets."

Amanda shook her head. "No. Just go."

Farah was getting frustrated. "Amanda, listen. I…"

"Something's wrong with Todd!"

Dirk's voice cut through their argument. Farah whirled around just in time to see Todd drop to the ground. He was making strange choking sounds.

 _Drowning._

Farah reached for the syringe, only to discover she didn't have it. It was still in the car.

 _No!_

She began to panic. There wasn't enough time to go all the way back to get it. Even if they carried Todd with them so she wouldn't have to make the trek back, he'd be dead before they could inject him.

 _I killed him. He's going to die because of me._

"What's happening?" Amanda cried as she dropped to her knees next to her brothers struggling form.

"He's having a pararibulitis attack!" cried Farah without taking her eyes of him. She was trying to think. There had to be something she could do to save him.

Amanda looked up at Farah. "But he never had pararibulitis!"

"He does now!" barked Farah as she tried to think what to do.

"Didn't the Rowdies tell you?" Dirk asked as he grabbed Todd's hand and squeezed. Farah realized Amanda had taken Todd's other hand. He was struggling less. Losing his fight. She felt like she was drowning too. How could she let this happen? How could she let him die?

"Vogel!" Amanda cried.

The young Rowdy pushed Farah and Dirk aside, away from where Todd was laying. He was surprisingly strong. Before Farah had a chance to retaliate, Vogel was standing over Todd and what looked like white smoke flowed out of Todd's body and into Vogel.

"What the…" Farah started.

"It can't be…" said Dirk as he stared.

When the last of the smoke left him, Todd was coughing and gasping, but breathing. Before Farah had time to wrap her mind around what just happened, Amanda was embracing her bother.

* * *

Farah rubbed her temples. "Can you please at least try and explain it?" she asked.

Everyone had been so emotional and scattered that it was impossible to make sense of the fragmented words that she was hearing.

They had retreated to a log cabin that the Rowdy 3 were using. They were all there, and they only casually acknowledged the three people that Amanda and Vogel brought back with them.

"Could we please start with how Vogel could feed off Todd?" asked Dirk. "I know you Rowdies can only feed off psychics." He suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Or… people that are thought to be psychic that are not really at all and just have some sort of… ability that may or may not make much sense at times."

"You're partially right." Said Amanda. "They feed off a specific type of energy. One that people who are dubbed 'psychic' produce a lot of."

"So, why could he feed off me and get rid of my attack?" asked Todd.

"Because," said Amanda "pararibulitis is a psychic condition."

The room was so quiet that Farah could actually hear the jaws drop.

"Come again?" Dirk said.

"Ok," said Amanda. "Let me see if I can explain it. There is a certain type of energy that is all around us that is a part of our world, even though most of us aren't really aware of it. Think of it like this, like everyone has a house at the base of a dam. But instead of holding back water, it holds back energy. As long as the dam is working right, it's just there, not causing a problem. With me so far?"

Everyone nodded their heads.

"Good. Ok, now think of someone like Farah. Someone without psychic abilities. She has her little house she lives in at the base of her dam. She still gets exposed to the energy, like rainwater. A little isn't really a big deal. It even does good things like waters her plants and she can drink it, but it's never a ton at once. If you apply that to real life, think of it as gut feelings or intuition or having an emotional connection to something.

"Then there's someone like Dirk or the Rowdy 3. Think of their houses being at the bases of their dams, but there is a channel that lets some water through. And they can use it to do things like fill a swimming pool or grow exotic plants that no one else can or whatever shit they can do because they just have more water than most people to work with. It seems almost magical to people who don't have that kind of access."

"What about us?" asked Todd. "Where do we fit in with all this?"

"I'm getting to that. We have a condition that affects our dams. It's supposed to hold up like Farah's, but let's just say that it has cracks. It isn't coming in with control the way it is for someone with a channel. It's cracking the dam and the cracks get bigger and cause more damage. It's psychic energy that manifests as literal pain because we were never designed to experience it. And eventually, it gets bad enough that our dam breaks and it floods our home. That's when it turns fatal."

"Wait a minute, are you telling me that I'm dying of an overdoes of psychic energy?" asked Todd.

Amanda nodded. "Basically, yeah."

Todd looked flustered. "But, this is a disease that runs in our family."

"Well, it's not exactly a disease. It's a condition that runs in families that doctors don't understand, so they call it a disease. They really know nothing about it. The only reason they think it has to do our nerves is because it hurts and they can't figure out what the hell is actually happening."

Dirk looked wide eyed at her. "That's why you went with the Rowdy 3. They could feed off your energy and neutralize the attacks. They are more effective than any medicine. They are energy vampires that need to feed, and you are a fountain of extra energy you need to get rid of to survive."

Amanda nodded. "And because we were never supposed to experience the energy anyway, instead of hurting when it is drained, it's a relief."

Todd shifted his weight. "What else is it?"

Amanda smiled. "You saw it, didn't you?"

"Saw what?" asked Farah.

"Visions." Said Amanda.

Todd looked down and nodded.

"What did you see?" asked Amanda.

"I'm… not sure. It didn't make much sense."

Amanda nodded. "It took me a while to figure them out too. They're confusing, but they make more sense later. The more you have them, the more you understand them. Or even channel them. That's what I've been doing. Vogel has been helping me focus the energy from my attacks so we can use that energy to help us. Over the last week we have been using it to try and locate someone like me. Someone who had psychic energy we could use to help us. And then when we found someone, we used it to call him to us."

Dirk looked at her. "And you didn't know it was Todd?"

"No." Amanda admitted. "It didn't even occur to me that it could be. I couldn't see his face, and last I knew, Todd never had it. When Todd showed up, I thought I had made a mistake. I just knew it was calling someone like me. Someone with pararibulitis who I needed to help me with the plan."

"What plan?" asked Farah for what felt like the millionth time.

"The energy inside you is growing." Said Dirk. "That's why Todd has been having more attacks. There's more energy pouring through the cracks."

"Why is it growing?" asked Farah. "Is it because you called him?"

Amanda shook her head. "No. It's doing that anyway. I've felt it too. That's why I was able to have enough to find him and bring him here."

"It's because our worlds are merging." Said Dirk.

Amanda smiled at him. "You can see it, can't you?"

Dirk nodded. "I've been trying to for ages. I couldn't tell what I was seeing."

Todd turned to him. "What is it? What do you see?"

"Blackwing. They're the ones we were told about that were going to those worlds and stripping them of their resources. They're the reason we were caged when we stumbled on those aquatic cave dwellers."

"The what?" asked Amanda.

"Long story." Said Todd. "We'll explain later."

Dirk began pacing. "Blackwing found out about other worlds, and they figured out a way to get to them. But something's wrong. The worlds are merging. That's why we were hit by a pyramid and saw that tree. We're bleeding into each other. Blackwing started something that they can't control."

Amanda smiled. "Right. I've been seeing visions about it for months. I met some of the people who have come through from other places. We have to stop Blackwing before things get worse. It's like the dam again. We were not designed to have this overlap. The cracks are going to get bigger and our worlds will literally destroy each other."

Farah looked at her. "So, what do we do?"

"Vogel and I found a way to channel my energy to close the gates for good. But I don't have enough. That's where you come in." she said as she looked at Todd.

"How are you channeling it?" asked Farah.

"We got ahold of a crystal from one of the other worlds. That's what Blackwing is using. They are connected as a grid. They've pretty much mastered how to use them, but they struggle to produce even a fraction of the energy that Todd and I have access to. The Rowdy 3 can use it to disrupt the network."

"So, we'll close the gates." Said Todd.

"Well, we're going to open them first." Said Amanda. "I've met these people. The ones whose worlds are being destroyed by Blackwing. They want to help take them out so they don't have a chance to find a new way back. Their armies are waiting at the gates. They are going to attack from everywhere Blackwing used to get to them. Then they will retreat, and we will close the gates behind them."

"Will two people with pararibulitis produce enough energy for that?" asked Dirk.

"I hope so." Said Amanda. "It's our only option. I've spent too much time and energy just trying to find what turned out to be Todd. We don't have the luxury of looking for someone else."

"Wait," said Todd. "The Rowdies are here. We rescued them from Blackwing at the same time we rescued Dirk. They knew I had pararibulitis. Why didn't you all just tell her about me?" he looked at Amanda. "And when they found you, and told you we rescued them and I was looking for you, why didn't you try to find me? Why didn't you tell me you were ok? We told the Rowdies how to reach us. Didn't they tell you?"

Amanda looked down and shifted uncomfortably. "Well, we haven't been together long. They only found us a few days ago. And they said you and Farah rescued them. I asked if you were ok and they said you'd been hurt but you were with a doctor and being taken care of. I told them that was all I needed to know."

Todd turned to look at the three Rowdies that he had helped rescue. "That's it? You didn't tell her I was going insane looking for her or that I had pararibulitis or that there was a way to contact us?"

Martin lowered his gaze to Todd. "Drummer Girl said that was all she needed to know, so that's all we told her."

"But you knew! You knew I had exactly the disease you needed, and you didn't even mention it?"

Martin stood to his full height and stepped towards Todd. "Frankly, we were hoping the person she tracked wasn't you. We're all a little disappointed at what showed up."

Todd turned to Amanda. "You honestly didn't ask how to contact me to let me know you were safe? After the last time we talked you were screaming about something horrible happening and I couldn't find you for months and you didn't even ask if there was a way you could tell me you were ok?!"

"I asked if you were safe!" exclaimed Amanda. "They said you were, so I went back to my mission. I figured we could talk it all out when it was over."

"I need air." Todd said as he stormed out into the snow.

* * *

The coat that Ken had given Todd was doing almost nothing to protect him from the wind that was cutting right through him. He barely noticed as he paced angrily and tried to make sense of his thoughts.

"Todd?" Amanda called.

"What the hell, Amanda?!" he exclaimed. "I've been so worried and searching for you for months and you don't even try to tell me you're alright and you tell your Rowdy boyfriends or whatever that they are not to even tell you about me?"

"I told you I asked if you were safe! And it's not like I forbid them from saying your name or anything, I just wanted to know that you were alright and that was enough for now."

"I screwed up!" cried Todd. "I get that. I make no excuses for the type of person I've been. I will feel sick with guilt for the rest of my life because of the things I have done that I can never make right. And I get why you can never forgive me. Fine. But how can you not even care?"

Amanda looked at him. "I do care. That's the problem. I've been ashamed and embarrassed that I said those horrible things and abandoned you and after all that you still tried to rescue me when I called you all scared and not knowing what to do." She looked up at Todd. "When all that stuff went down, it was still you that I called. I realized in that moment that even though I had told you I hated you and never wanted to see you again, that you would still be the person that would have my back if I needed you. I was mad. I'm still mad. But you are my brother and you have worked your ass off to try and make up for that things you did. And when you started screaming… I thought I lost you. I thought you were dead and that last conversation would haunt me for the rest of my life. Knowing that I never got to tell you that, in spite of everything, I still love you."

Todd stopped pacing and looked at his sister.

She looked down at her shoes. "When I found out you were alive and safe, well as safe as you can be with all this going on, I didn't want them to tell me more because I wanted to find out for myself. I realized I was actually going to get to see you again."

"Then why were you so horrified to see me?" he asked.

"Because I wanted to see you safe and far away from here. Because I realized I had screwed up too and wanted to tell you when we weren't in the middle of all of this. Because I thought that I was so wrapped up in actually getting to see you again, that I had accidently called you instead of someone with pararibulitis and jeopardized the whole mission." She paused. "Because I wanted to do something right so you could be proud of me the next time I saw you."

Todd took a step towards his baby sister. "I'm always proud of you. I've always been proud of you. You're the person I wish I was strong enough to be."

Amanda couldn't make eye contact as she said, "So if we've made up I'd like to go back in 'cause I'm freezing my ass off."

Todd couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah. Let's go back in."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The abandoned cabin that Amanda and the Rowdy 3 were living in wasn't exactly luxury accommodations, but Farah was looking forward to sleeping in a real bed that night. Plus, the fact that there were other experienced fighters under the same roof made her breathe easier than she had in ages. As much as she loved both Todd and Dirk, after much training they had become almost competent in a fight. She opened the door to the room she was using and saw Todd curled up in a fetal position on the bed.

"Todd!" She cried as she rushed to his side.

"I'm fine." He said in a pained voice.

"You don't look fine." She replied.

"Just indigestion." He said.

Farah glared at him. "I don't believe you."

"Have you seen what we eat? I'm amazed this hasn't happened sooner."

His attempt at a joke wasn't going to distract her.

"You're having an attack, aren't you?"

"Just a tiny one. I've got it" he said as he attempted a disarming smile, which, in his state, came across more like a grimace.

"I'm calling the Rowdies." She said.

"No!" he cried. "Don't do that!"

"Why?" she asked.

"When they drain the energy, it doesn't just take the attack. It takes backed up psychic energy too. I need to have as much as possible tomorrow when and Amanda and I do our thing."

"Which is what, exactly?" asked Farah.

"I don't know." Todd admitted. "I asked her to explain it and she literally said, 'we're using crystals and shit.' I gave up trying to understand it." He winced again and wrapped his arms around his middle.

Farah put her hands on her hips. "And this means you can't have some relief tonight?"

Todd nodded. "I swear this is the mildest one I've had in two months. It's probably because Vogel took so much energy earlier today. It hurts, but it's manageable. I don't feel like I'm dying."

Farah's brain was going into overdrive trying to decide what action to take. Any of the Rowdies could neutralize the attack in a moment and give him relief. Even though he said it wasn't bad, she could see the pain on his face. He was terrible about trying to tough through things he should not. And what if it accelerated? What if the attack changed in an instant and suddenly turned deadly? On the other hand, what if he was right and he needed this stored psychic energy the next day and the draining left him unable to complete the insane plan they were attempting? Could they all die because Todd didn't push through his attack? But what if the energy the Rowdies drained from him was just enough to power them to do their part of the job and that was what would help them win their fight against Blackwing? Various scenarios went rapid fire through her mind. She shook her head and tried to clear her thoughts. She looked at Todd's face and made the decision to trust his judgement and respect his wishes. "Is there anything I can do?"

Todd hesitated, then said "Do you mind keeping me company?"

Farah sat on the edge of the bed. "Is it safe to touch you?"

"Yeah. Just avoid the midsection. That's where the broken glass is."

Farah winced. She didn't know how he kept going with all this. Farah reached over and put her hand on his cheek. He attempted a shaky smile. She pulled her legs up on the bed and laid on her side facing him. "Give me your hand."

Todd managed to pull his right hand away from clutching his gut. Farah took it and began massaging pressure points.

"I know it's hard, but try to relax as much as possible. Remember how much that helped the last time you had a mild attack?"

He nodded. "So, the hand thing is to help me relax?"

"That and distract you. Never underestimate the numbing power of distraction. Focus on your hand. Feel the pressure of my fingers. Keep your breathing slow and steady. Four counts to breathe in, eight counts to breathe out."

Todd closed his eyes and began timed breaths.

"You know," said Farah "it's funny. When I first met you, you were so sad. Like the weight of your life was just crushing you. You didn't seem to have much to live for. And now here we are, months later, with your life exponentially more difficult and I swear you seem more alive then you ever did then."

"Yeah." He said "I was miserable. Honestly, if I wasn't trying to support Amanda, I'm not sure I would have had anything to live for. And even with that, really I was just trying to make up for all the horrible things I did. She was suffering because of my mistakes. She couldn't afford treatments because I used all that money being an idiot in my 20s. She'd confide in me and I'd pretend to understand. I felt like I at least owed her that. But the guilt was killing me. At least now it's out. No more secrets. Even with all the stuff going on, I actually am better than I was. Especially now that I know Amanda is ok."

"I'm worried about this plan." Said Farah. "Too many variables and no one seems to be able to fully explain it despite my many, many attempts to get them to clarify. Plans like this are amateurish and dangerous and do not adequately equip assets or properly prepare for the opposition."

"You mean like our 'take Lydia and the dog to a time traveling device we don't understand and is a little busted and hopefully use it right so that after it kills them it will unkill them and set it right?' plan?"

"Yeah," said Farah "I wasn't a fan of that one either."

"Worked out pretty well though." He said.

"I certainly can't argue with the results." She looked over at Todd. "How do you feel?"

"Better." He said "It's almost gone. It's just the shadow of the pain now."

"That's a surprisingly poetic was to describe it."

"Yes well, I am a musician you know."

Todd entwined his fingers with hers.

"I'm worried about tomorrow." She said.

"I've been worried every day since this mess started."

Farah shook her head. "But this is different. This is bigger and there are more moving parts and…" she trailed off.

"And you and I will be split up." He finished.

She nodded. Todd squeezed Farah's hand and said, "I realize it's stupid, but I wish I was going to be with you on your part of the mission. I know, it's not like you need me to protect you. And honestly you would probably spend the whole time keeping me from getting myself killed. But I like to be close to you. To be able to see that you are ok."

"Me too." She said.

"Yeah, but the difference is that you could actually save me."

"You've saved my life before."

"And you've saved mine about a billion more times."

"We're not keeping score. Let's just say we'd both be dead without the others heroic actions."

Todd smiled. "That's very generous of you."

"I get very sentimental before I go into battle."

Farah smiled back, but the look on Todd's face told her he wasn't buying it.

"What is it?" he asked.

She paused. She didn't want to say it out loud, but she also realized that Todd knew her too well to simply pretend that things were alright, so she decided to be honest. "It's just that this is insane. And terrifying. And every cell in every part of me is screaming that this is not the way to do this and that I won't be able to do what I need to do for my part and that you and Amanda still aren't sure what all you need for your part and who even knows what the Rowdies need or can do or even are or whatever and Dirk needs to not die and possibly do some sort of strange psychic thing like he does that seems pointless until it saves our asses and…" She felt the explanation turning to word vomit in her mouth. She closed her eyes and did her best to center herself. After a few deep breaths, she opened her eyes and said, "I'm afraid of failing you. All of you. I'm the one with the tactical experience and I don't feel capable of using that to the best of my ability. That scares me. What if you, any of you, are hurt or killed because I didn't get us as ready as we could be? What if I fail? What if my failure causes us all to fail?"

Todd squeezed her hand. "I forget."

"Forget what?"

"Forget that you don't see what I see. That you have been a rock and an anchor and by far the most competent and trustworthy person I've ever met, and you still can't see it. You still see yourself through that filter that used to define you. If there is one thing in this plan that doesn't scare me, it's you."

She looked up from their clasped hands and into his blue eyes. Her mind was swirling with words trying to explain how much what he had said meant to her, but she couldn't seem to make them form actual sentences to express aloud. So instead, she just said "Thank you."

They stared at each other a moment, and then they both leaned in and kissed. It was slow and deliberate and soft.

"Hey Todd, I want to ask you about…"

Amanda burst into the room and froze as she saw the two of them kissing on the bed. They immediately pulled away and Todd blushed slightly.

"Um, hi, Amanda. What is it you need?"

"Nothing." She said, still a bit shocked by what she walked in on. "See you in the morning. Put a tie on the door next time." She said as she shut the door behind her.

* * *

Dirk was walking to the back bedroom when he literally crashed into Amanda. Dirk completely lost his balance and landed butt first on the floor.

"Sorry." Said Amanda as she helped him up. "Though I'll warn you, don't go back there."

Dirk raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yeah… Todd and Farah are having some 'private time', you could say."

"Oh good! They made up!" Dirk said cheerily. "Todd was having a bit of a hard time accepting love and was pushing Farah away and nearly botched the whole thing, but I gave him a talking to and it must have helped if you walked in on something worth warning me away from."

Amanda blinked. "Wait, how long has this been going on?"

"About a week, I think. What day is it again? Anyway, they confessed their feelings for each other after Todd almost died during my rescue."

"Todd almost died?"

"Oh yes. He was stabbed rather violently. It was all very dramatic."

"Stabbed?!"

"Right here." Dirk said as he gestured to a place on his stomach. "It was awful. We couldn't believe he pulled through."

"He seems fine now." Said Amanda.

"Yes. Your friends from another dimension put him in a healing pool. Saved his life again I dare say."

"How do you know they are my friends?" she asked.

"Everything is connected. We found them while looking for you. They'd been exploited by Blackwing already, which is why they were so rough with us initially. But they had talked to you, hadn't they? They knew your plan. And you told them you were trying to find someone like you. Someone who had pararibulitis. They could somehow sense that in Todd, so they patched him up and sent us on our way, presuming that we were headed towards you and your plan to save the worlds."

"You scare me sometimes." Said Amanda as she pushed past him and walked towards the couch.

Dirk watched her sit heavily and put her head in her hands.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he moved closer to her.

"It's just… I was so angry with Todd. I told him… I said things I regret. But I called him and he was coming for me and I was so sorry for everything I said, and then he just screamed. I had no idea what was happening to him. And when he didn't find me, and I couldn't find him, I thought he was dead. I mean, I hoped he was alright, but I was pretty sure it was just me unable to let go."

She paused, and Dirk cautiously sat beside her on the couch.

"Then the Rowdies came back and told me he was alive and I was relieved and angry and happy and sad. I mean, I wanted him to be alright, but why couldn't he find me? He could always find me. Though I guess he eventually did… And I was still mad at him! I mean, he lied to me and our parents. And I was mad at myself for what I had said. And I was in the middle of this plan that could fix things. That could stop Blackwing and maybe make us all safe again. And I figured he would be fine with you and Farah watching out for him. Mostly Farah. No offense."

"None taken." Said Dirk.

"Anyway, I thought if I did this, then when I saw him again I could tell him that I did something right. That he'd be proud of me and we'd forgive each other and we'd go home and tell Mom and Dad we aren't dead."

"That can still happen." said Dirk "Only now, Todd is a part of the plan."

Amanda took a deep breath and looked up at Dirk. "Did he really almost die?"

Dirk nodded. "But he didn't."

"I know, it's just… real all of a sudden. He almost died and got a girlfriend and developed a psychic disease and I was somewhere else. I guess I wanted him to wait safely in a box until I came home from my adventure."

"Yes, but you get to be in each others adventures now."

Amanda paused. "What if my plan gets him killed? Or Farah? Or you? It was one thing when I was planning this with a stranger in mind."

"And the Rowdy 3." Dirk added.

"They're pretty unkillable." Said Amanda.

"It's a good plan." Said Dirk.

"Do you even understand it?" asked Amanda.

"No, but I can _feel_ that it's a good plan."

Amanda shook her head, but she smiled. Dirk had missed her smile.

"I should get some rest." She said as she rose from the couch.

"Me too. Oh, and Amanda,"

She paused and looked at him.

"He's forgive you for what you said. He really believes he deserved it. And all he's thought about is finding you and making things right."

A look that resembled both sadness and relief washed over her face. "Thanks, Dirk. It's good to have you back."

"Likewise. Always a pleasure, Amanda. Goodnight."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The level of strangeness increased exponentially as they moved closer to the snow covered mountain. More pyramids and metallic trees, but also translucent rocks and deep purple patches of snow. There was a yellow orb that had melted all the snow within a ten food radius, and a bright pink bush in full bloom that appeared unhappy under its blanket of snow.

"Blackwing will be here soon." Said Amanda. "There are way too many rifts to go unnoticed. That's why we picked this spot. We can use that to our advantage."

"How much time do we have?" asked Farah.

"Enough." Answered Martin, gruffly.

Todd looked up the mountain. "How far do we have to climb?

"As high as we can." Replied Amanda. "The higher we are, the further the energy will disperse."

Farah and Todd clasped hands.

"Stay safe." She said.

"You're the one with the dangerous job." He replied. "I've got Amanda and Vogel with me. I'll be fine. Please be careful, and watch your back."

They leaned in and kissed. It was awkward in front of everyone, especially with the snickering sounds coming from at least half the Rowdies. Todd was pretty sure all four of them were actually twelve year old boys at heart.

Farah and Todd released each others hands and Todd began his trek up the mountain.

"Careful there, Romeo." Said Amanda. "It almost got PG there for a minute."

"Wow." Said Todd. "Really, that's what we're going to talk about?"

"She's out of your league."

"I'm painfully aware. Thanks."

"Speaking of painfully aware," said Amanda "have you discovered the joys of a physical relationship when you have pararibulitis?"

Todd said nothing.

"Did you even get any tongue before you were bathed in acid or had your shirt crush your ribs?"

"I'm not discussing this with you!" he said as he sped up his climb.

They were silent for a while when Amanda said, "Spiders."

"What?" said Todd.

"I figured out romance wasn't going to work for me when I was making out with Jamie Gregs and was suddenly swarmed by spiders."

Todd cringed.

"Jamie thought he could be understanding of my condition, but he didn't stick around long after that."

After walking a few more minutes in silence he said, "Vines covered in thorns."

"Oof." Said Amanda. "Sounds like a fun one. How'd Farah handle it?"

"She's been… surprisingly supportive."

Amanda shook her head. "You get how rare that is, right?"

"Yeah," said Todd "I don't deserve Farah. I honestly don't know why she still wants me. Not just because of my pararibulitis and the how that affects… aspects of our relationship. But because I'm me and I'm constantly screwing things up." He paused. "When I'm with her, I want to be worthy of whatever it is she sees in me. I want to be the type of man she deserves."

Amanda stopped walking and looked at her brother. "I'm happy for you. Really."

Todd started to tear up and then shook it off. "Thanks. That, uh, means a lot coming from you."

"Yeah." She said as she continued her climb. "It does."

* * *

Farah could feel the prickle on her skin. It was like the feeling when a big storm is brewing. That strange crackle of energy in the air. She always felt that before a major mission. She had her gun ready. The remaining three Rowdies had bats and crowbars, which for whatever reason seemed to be more effective for them than guns. Dirk was looking through binoculars.

"You're sure they're coming?" said Dirk.

"No way they've missed this level of breeches." Said Martin. "No doubt about it. They're coming."

"There!" Farah called. "Three o'clock!"

There was a trickle of soldiers coming over the horizon. They were heavily armed. They knew someone was here, and they were prepared.

Farah's head was buzzing with various strategies. How many were there? What were they armed with? What was the best strategy to keep them at bay? Would there be a second wave behind them? She hadn't had time to answer any of those questions when she heard Dirk shout,

"Eight o'clock!"

Farah turned, and sure enough, there was another set of soldiers as large and armed as the first. And as she turned her head, she saw another group. And another. And another.

It was an army.

* * *

Todd was sweating despite the cold. The hike was exhausting and Todd had been living on little sleep, fast food, and pararibulitis meds for a while. His body couldn't handle what it once could.

Amanda scoffed at him.

"Keep up, Old Man."

"Hey, I taught you how to use a spoon. You could show a little patience."

"Need me to carry you?" asked Vogel.

At first Todd thought he was being rude, but he saw no trace of that on his face.

"He can, you know." Said Amanda. "One of the perks of being a vampire."

"Thanks, but I'm good." Said Todd as he tried to salvage a little dignity. "How much further?"

Vogel stopped walking so suddenly that Todd crashed into him.

"What?" Amanda asked with concern in her voice.

"We're out of time." He said.

Todd turned and saw what he meant. Hundreds of armed soldiers were closing in on the spot where their friends were stationed.

"Set up, now!" Amanda barked as they scrambled to get everything ready.

Todd couldn't stop picturing Farah and Dirk down there being so grossly outnumbered.

 _Please, hang on._

* * *

Farah felt a pull in her stomach. These numbers were far beyond their estimation.

"Everyone in position!" she shouted as they took their stances. "We have to bottleneck as many of the groups as possible. There are several points around us where they will have to enter is small groups or single file. That will help slow them down."

 _Not enough._ Said her brain, which was working overtime trying to calculate the numbers of opponents and attempting to find ways to even the odds.

The Rowdies got into their battle stances. Farah pulled out her spare gun and handed it to Dirk.

"Do you know how to use this?"

"Yes…ish?" he replied as he took it.

"They want us alive for questioning and experiments." Said Cross. "We can use that."

Farah nodded. "As long as we can buy enough time, the numbers won't be a problem. We just have to keep them at bay long enough to let everything go into motion."

 _Easier said than done._ Hissed her brain, which was refusing to shut up and let her work.

"Can you at least not use clichés when you taunt me?" Farah muttered as she crouched into position.

"What was that?" asked Dirk.

"Nothing." Said Farah, a bit harsher than she meant to.

"Need a hand?"

Farah whirled around and pointed her gun at the unexpected voice. Bart didn't react, but Ken threw his hands in the air so fast that he nearly dropped the laptop he was holding.

Farah lowered her gun. "How did you get here undetected with a literal army closing in?"

Bart shrugged. "Universe."

"Neither of us are interested in being taken again." Said Ken. "We're here to help you cut the head off the snake." He lowered his arms and began typing on his computer.

"What are you doing?" asked Dirk.

"Feeding them false intel. Sending a few of the groups to other locations where there are supposedly more of us or things they need to check out. Anything to confuse them."

"Tuck back behind those rocks at the base of the mountain." Said Farah. "You'll be safer there. Dirk and Bart, keep him covered."

"Roger!" shouted Dirk, who was using enthusiasm to mask his fear.

"Yeah, sure." Said Bart with a shrug. She always seemed to not care. But Farah saw the fear that flashed briefly across her face. She was scared. Not for herself. She was afraid of losing Ken.

 _I know how you feel._

* * *

Everything was set. Todd's heart was pounding.

"Now what?" he asked.

"We have to trigger a pararibulitis attack." She said.

"Shouldn't be hard. I'm surprised we didn't have any climbing up here."

Amanda handed him a knife.

"I'm sorry." Said Todd.

"What?" she asked.

"I'm sorry. For everything. For lying. For being selfish. For not protecting you. For taking so long to find you. For…"

Amanda held up her hand. "Stop. This isn't goodbye. It's going to work and we can hug and cry and have our Hallmark moment later. Just focus."

Todd nodded as Amanda positioned the knife over the palm of her hand.

"I'm sorry too." She said as she dragged the knife across her flesh.

Todd watched in silent horror as his sister screamed in pain the way she had so many times since her diagnosis. He wanted to make it stop. To help her. But instead he stood there and watched helplessly as Vogel began to drain the energy from her body and channel it into the crystal they had set up on the mountainside. She stopped screaming and instead, her body became stiff. It was as if she were in a trance. He wondered if maybe she was. As much as Todd wanted to stay there and make sure she was alright, he climbed the large rock next to them and looked out over into the land below them.

"Anything?" Vogel yelled.

Todd was trying to see some evidence to Amanda's work, but there was none. All he saw was the battle that had begun.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Dirk had fired his gun exactly zero times since the fighting started. He was standing next to Ken, hidden behind some large boulders. The boulders were from another world and were just transparent enough that Dirk could see blurred movement as shots were fired and people fought on the other side. He could hear Rowdy battle cries and Farah's gun and the sickening sound of bones being broken.

Ken was typing furiously.

"How's it going?" Dirk asked shakily.

"Better if I don't talk." He replied.

"Can I talk?" asked Dirk "I find the act of speaking can be calming and I could use a bit of calm right now." He tried to steady his shaking hands.

"Sure. Whatever."

"We're fortunate. You and I. We have a lot in common, you know. Captured by Blackwing. Lonely life interrupted by surprise companions. And we both like dogs."

"Look, if you're going to keep going talking, can you do it a little quieter?"

"Sorry. I'm just saying, I believe Bart knows how lucky she is to have you as an assistant. To have someone who can see all the strangeness in her life and still accept her. Who doesn't blame her for bringing you into all this. Well, maybe at first, but you don't now that you're real, proper friends and that's so beautiful and unusual even without our crazy lives and she should be even more grateful than she is because you don't have to be in this mess and it would kill her to lose her friends, I mean friend, in this ordeal and she'd never forgive herself if you got hurt or…"

"Look out!"

A rock the size of a baked potato came flying through the air and hit Dirk's hand. It startled him so badly that his gun went off. He and Ken both screamed and then Dirk looked up and saw a Blackwing soldier with a smoking bullet hole through his forehead. The man had apparently snuck up on the two off them, and dropped motionless on the ground from Dirk's unintentional shot. Bart was standing at the edge of the boulder in the same spot she had been standing when she threw the rock.

"I was aiming for the soldier. Didn't mean to hit you. Sorry, I guess. You ok, Ken?"

Ken let out a squeak and nodded in response.

"How 'bout you, Dirk?"

Dirk tried to pick up his dropped gun, but his hands were shaking too hard. "F… fine. J… ju… just fine." He stammered.

"Ok." She said. "Cool. Call me if you need me again." And she was back out in the battle.

Dirk looked up at the equally shaken Ken.

"I think I'm lucky to have her too." He said as he forced himself to regain composure and type.

* * *

Todd watched in horror as the battle played out below him. He tried to pick out Farah and Dirk, but he couldn't. It was too chaotic and too far away. The soldiers were coming in fast. Even with the Rowdies and their ability to take on overwhelming odds and Farah being a one woman militia, there was no way they could hold them off for long.

"Anything?" Vogel cried.

"No!" Todd called back "Not yet!"

Then he saw it. Little slivers of light that looked like cracks in the air.

"Wait! I see it! She's doing it!"

The cracks widened, and people came pouring out of them. Each crack was a door to a different world and the people coming from those worlds were varied and strange. He saw bright colored armor and dirt colored clothes and brilliant white hair and florescent purple hair and hair thatso perfectly matched their skintone that he couldn't tell where the face ended and the hair began. Some reminded him of samurais or farmers or knights or monks. He saw men, women, and a few that were huge and looked like ogres. The mosaic rainbow of otherworldly invaders demolished Blackwings forces before it was even clear what was happening. And then they were gone. Scattering like roaches through the interdimensional cracks to avoid the fallout of phase two.

"All clear!" Todd cried as he climbed off the rock and ran to his position. He looked over at Amanda, who appeared weak and exhausted.

"Now the hard part!" shouted Vogel over the roar of the energy rushing around them.

Todd got into position and raked the knife across his hand. Fire burst from the wound and began to race up his arm. It vanished before it reached his face as he felt the rush of energy leaving his body. It was hard to catch his breath. He'd once taken Amanda into a tornado simulator at the science center when she was little. It was a lot like that, only on acid. The colors and shapes and textures that were swirling around and through his body were impossible to describe. The initial burst of adrenaline made him feel like he could swim across the Pacific. But it was wearing off. He soon felt tired and weak. He wondered how much more had to be pulled from them to close the gates.

Then Todd felt a shift. The drain he'd been feeling doubled. It nearly knocked all the air out of him. His body started to ache.

 _Hang in there._ He thought as he struggled to stand. _Hang on._

* * *

Amanda collapsed to the ground. It was over.

She tried to blink the fogginess from her eyes as she pushed herself painfully up to a sitting position. Then she saw it, the crystal was still glowing. Energy was still swirling. And there was Todd. He was standing, rigid and shaky in his trance as the energy was being sucked from his body.

"What happened?" she shouted to Vogel. "Why is he still like that?"

"Gates aren't closed!" cried Vogel. "We need more!"

"Put me back in!" she yelled as she struggled to stand. Her legs felt like she had run a marathon across three states, and her muscles were screaming for her to rest.

Vogel shook his head. "Can't! You're out! Sucked dry! Todd's the only one with anything left!"

Amanda scrambled across the snow to her brother. He looked awful. His face was pale and his unseeing eyes looked sunk in.

"How much longer?" she asked.

"Don't know!" replied Vogel. "They're harder to close than we thought!"

Amanda reached over and took Todd's hand. As soon as she touched him, she was transported back into the energy vortex. She could see it all, the colors and shapes and everything just like before when she was being drained, but she couldn't _feel_ it this time. She realized she was only an observer, and not a participant anymore.

"Todd!" she cried over the deafening sound of energy flowing like a raging river around them.

He made no attempt to hide the surprise on his face. "How are you here? What's happening?"

"I'm out of psychic energy! It's all you!"

She saw a flicker of fear on his face, but he said, "What do I do?"

"Just hang in there! The energy is moving through just you now! When the gates are closed, Vogel will release you and it will all be fine!"

Amanda squeezed his hand, and then realize that he didn't squeeze it back. He looked sick.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I… I'm not sure…" his legs started to buckle.

"Todd!" she cried.

* * *

Farah had done a basic check of everyone. The Rowdies refused to be examined, but seemed fine. Ken had been grazed on the arm by a bullet, but was alright. Bart was drenched in blood, but none of it appeared to be hers. Dirk hurt his hand on a flying rock or something and had a large cut on his forehead he didn't remember getting, but it didn't seem to be serious. Farah slapped a bandage on it from the first aid kit, and then began climbing the mountain.

She finally got high enough to see them. Todd was standing like a statue and his eyes were wide and his face looked pained. He appeared to be in some sort of trance. Amanda was holding his left hand and had the same far away look that her brother had, but she did not appear to be in any pain.

Vogel was standing near the crystal. The bluish smoke that was being pulled from Todd (though not from Amanda), was going through Vogel, into the crystal, and then was shooting as if out a sprinkler from the top. That must have been how they were getting the energy to the gates or portals or doors or whatever they were that Blackwing had opened. Vogel looked exhausted, but he was standing strong.

The other Rowdies came up the mountain and passed Farah without a word as they went and surrounded their fourth. They each put a hand on him and Farah saw obvious relief in Vogel's face and posture. They were helping him carry whatever burden was on him.

Farah looked over at Todd and made what was probably a crazy decision. She took a deep breath and reached over and took his right hand. The entire world transformed into the eye of a technicolor tornado. Both Todd and Amanda looked shocked to see her.

"What are you doing here?" Amanda shouted over the noise.

"I saw the Rowdies doing this with Vogel and thought I would see if I could help!" she shouted back.

"You can't!" yelled Amanda. "I ran out of psychic energy! It's just Todd now! He needs to have enough to close the gates or Blackwing and others like them will just keep using them!"

Todd looked terrible. His face seemed hollow and his skin looked dry and brittle. He seemed thinner. Smaller. She wasn't sure how he was standing.

"There has to be something we can do!"

Suddenly, Dirk literally appeared. He was standing between Farah and Amanda with his hand on Todd's shoulder.

"Dirk!" Amanda cried.

"Oh good!" he exclaimed happily. "I was hoping this would work! I had a theory that we could communicate in here! When I saw you three standing around like statues, I wasn't sure if you could speak to each other on this plane! Pleased to see that it worked out!"

"What are you doing here?" shouted Farah.

"Same as you, I suspect! I wanted to help!"

"You can't help!" cried Amanda. "We need Todd's psychic energy…"

Amanda and Farah looked at each other as it clicked.

"Could it work?" Farah asked.

"Would what work?" asked Dirk.

"Could we use your psychic energy to help?" Amanda shook her head. "I have no idea! We only tried it with the energy from pararibulitis!"

Dirk made a contemplative face. "I expect it could work. As long as the gate portals aren't picky about what type of psychic energy is used."

Todd let out a sharp cry.

"Why is this hurting him? It didn't hurt me!" cried Amanda.

"His body isn't used to it! You've been having it flow through you and the Rowdies for months, building up your endurance and strength! He's like a child trying to lift like a bodybuilder!" shouted Dirk.

Todd's legs started to buckle. The three of them literally had to hold him up.

"Todd!" Dirk shouted "You have to let us in! If you do, we can help carry this! My energy and even the tiny bit Farah has and maybe even Amanda has a little hidden deep somewhere and it can help you!"

Farah raised her eyebrows. "I have psychic energy?"

Dirk nodded. "Everyone does to some degree. It goes by different names, like intuition or gut instinct or talent or…"

Todd groaned, and his head dropped forward.

"Todd!" Amanda grabbed his chin and lifted his face so that she could look him in the eyes. "Let us in!"

"Hurts…" he said.

"We know." Said Farah. Her face was close enough to his ear that she didn't have to yell. "That's why we're trying to help."

He shook his head. "No… hurts… you…"

"We know Todd." Said Amanda as she put her head close to his. "You've carried enough. You've carried too much. Let us help you before this sucks all your life away and it still might not be enough. We're stronger together. We always have been."

"We're ready." Said Farah as she held him tightly.

Todd's breathing was ragged. He looked up, tears in his eyes as he looked at the ones who meant the most to him in the world. Then he nodded and closed his eyes.

Then Farah felt it. The energy being pulled from her body. She couldn't describe it. First, she thought it was like being electrocuted. Then frozen. Then burned. Her brain couldn't make sense of the sensation, but it was painful enough to make her scream.

She stood there, muscles locked, unseeing and unable to even think. And then, as abruptly as it began, it ended. Farah collapsed, totally limp, onto the ground in the heap of arms and legs that belonged to her friends. She felt her eyes close as her world went black.

* * *

Dirk blinked. He looked around and saw that he was in a house. In a bed. In fact, he was in a room full of bunkbeds. They must have been in another cabin.

"Good morning!" said Amanda as she sat on the edge of his bed.

"Did we do it?" Dirk asked.

Amanda smiled. "Yep! All portals to other dimensions have been successfully closed!"

Dirk sighed with relief. "How did we get here?"

"The Rowdy 3 brought us. We should be safe for a while. Blackwing got hit pretty hard. We're not exactly their biggest priority right now."

"Todd and Farah?" he asked.

"Still out cold." She replied.

"Really?" said Dirk in surprise.

"Yeah. Those lightweights aren't as tough as we are." She said with a playful punch to the arm. "Just kidding. They're just not as used to the psychic energy flow as we are. They don't have as much experience being drained by the Rowdies."

Dirk nodded. "But they're alright?"

"Yep. Good pulse. Steady breathing. Just sleeping."

"Sleep sounds good." Said Dirk.

Amanda rolled her eyes. "Really? You're just going to go back to sleep and leave me bored?"

"So sorry. Not all of us have had the daily experience of an energy draw. I'm afraid I could use a bit of a recharge."

Amanda patted his shoulder. "Fine. Rest. See you in a bit."

Dirk smiled. "I told you it was a good plan."

The last thing Dirk saw was her smile as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Farah was no longer used to being up this early. But between sleeping nearly a day after their mission was completed, and the fact that they didn't have to travel at night, she was catching the first glimmers of daylight as she stepped out into the snow.

Todd was sitting cross legged on a log. He was looking out over the snow covered landscape.

"Would you like some company?" she asked.

He looked up and smiled as he dusted the snow off the part of the log that was on his right side.

"Nice jacket." Farah teased as she sat next to him.

"Yeah." He said. "It was the only one warm enough that hadn't already been claimed by someone else. I have no idea where they got it, but if I had to guess I would say the wardrobe of Andre The Giant."

Farah laughed at the comically oversized black coat. "It looks warm though."

"It really is. Here." He unzipped the coat and pulled his right arm out of the sleeve and wrapped it around Farah. She put her arm into the sleeve and pressed up against Todd's side. He zipped it up and they snuggled together within the enormous coat.

"Wow. It really is a good coat." She said.

"Yeah. If my face weren't about to freeze, I could stay here all day. Look at that view."

The sunrise was glorious. There were just enough clouds in the sky to enhance the colors, but not so many that they would impede the rays of sunlight that were reflecting across the mountain range and lake.

"When is the last time we looked at a sunrise?" asked Todd. "I mean, really looked. Just took in the beauty of something like this?"

Farah nodded. "It's a lot easier to believe in stuff like alternate dimensions and super powers when you really stop and think about how beautiful and strange even the known world is."

Despite her face being cold, Farah felt very warm and cozy in the coat with Todd. His right arm was inside the coat and he wrapped it around her waist. She took her left arm and wrapped it around his.

"Today feels almost normal." He said. Then he added, "I mean, if you overlook all the weird stuff leading up to it."

Farah smiled in agreement. "So now what? What's next? Blackwing isn't gone, just really hurt. They lost a lot of men and a lot of leads now that they can't get back into those worlds. I'm sure that got them in trouble with their higher ups… whoever those are. But they could still regroup and come after us again."

Todd nodded. "I know we can't stay put long, but can we just take a few days? Maybe here. It's nice to be near Amanda. Plus, having the Rowdies around makes my disease a little less scary."

"Well, and there's Dirk to think about too." Said Farah. "I mean, he hasn't spent much time in snowy mountains. He should have that experience."

Todd chuckled. "Yeah well, we do need to take care of our Dirk."

"So how about this, we stay a few days. Rest up. Have fun. Bond with your sister. After that, we can reassess. Check out how badly Blackwing was really hurt. Measure the risks. Plan from there."

Todd held Farah close. "Sounds good. I'm up for it."

"Good morning!" said Dirk's cheery voice.

Farah looked over and saw Dirk standing nearby. He was wearing a bright orange ski coat with a kitten and skull covered winter hat and had a blanket draped over his shoulders. He was holding a mug of some sort of hot liquid in his gloved hands.

"Good morning." Said Todd. "Care to join us?"

Dirk looked so excited to be invited that Farah was afraid he might burst as he sat down on her right. Dirk smooshed up against her side and she put her arm across his shoulders. Todd and Dirk were pressed so tightly against her that she was no longer in any danger of being cold as they looked out over natures art show in front of them. Almost as if they had planned it, both Todd and Dirk rested their heads in her shoulders.

 _My boys._ She thought as she smiled.

"Wow, am I interrupting something again?"

They all looked up and saw Amanda standing in stark contrast with the snow in her all black ensemble.

Dirk was beside himself with excitement. "Amanda! You're just in time! Have you ever seen anything so amazing?"

Amanda smiled and shook her head. "No, Dirk. I can honestly say this is the best thing I've ever seen."

Dirk frowned in confusion. "But… the view is behind you. You're just looking as us… Oh! I get it now!"

Amanda laughed and sat down next to Todd, who pulled her in with his free arm for a big brother hug. The four sat, staring out for a while when Amanda said, "We're a strange little family, aren't we?"

"No." said Dirk. "We are the best kind."

* * *

The couple of days had turned into a week which turned into a week and a half, and Todd still didn't want to leave. It had been the happiest time of his life. And thanks to getting the excess psychic energy drained, Todd's meds worked again. It was safe to part ways.

Todd was folding his small pile of clothes and packing them in his bag. Farah came over and handed him his toothbrush.

"I don't want to go either. But you know it's time. We've already waited too long."

Todd nodded. "I know."

Suddenly, the door burst open and Dirk ran, completely breathless into the room.

"Are you alright?" Farah asked.

"I just got a call on my cell phone!"

"You have a cell phone?" said Todd.

"Yes! Don't you have my number in case of an emergency?" said Dirk.

"No. No I don't believe I do." Said Todd as he crossed his arms.

"Well, I will have to give it to you. It is important that we have a way to contact each other in emergencies. And we do seem to get into a lot of emergencies, and I would feel better if you knew my number and…"

"Dirk," said Farah, cutting him off. "What is so important about the call?"

"Oh, that. We have a case!"

The End

Note from the author-

Like so many fans, I still don't have access to Season 2. As I've been counting down the days until I actually get to experience new episodes, I found out the beloved show has been cancelled. Even without seeing what happens next, I'm sad to think that this may be all. I hope it does end up finding new life on another network, but even if not, I'm so thankful for the episodes I got to see. I fell in love with the characters and the stories. This show has brought me so much joy and inspiration. While it is unlikely that anyone actually involved with the show will see this, I just wanted to say thank you to the cast and crew for sharing your gifts, talents, and passions with us.


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